
Book \ . CI:.. 

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WESLEYANA: 



OR, A COMPLETE SYSTEM OF 

WESLEYAN THEOLOGY; 

SELECTED FROM THE WRITINGS OF 

THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, A. M. 
1 1 

AND SO ARRANGED AS TO FORM A MINIATURE BODY OF DIVINITY. 
(FROM A LONDON PUBLICATION.) 

REVISED; ENLARGED, AND AN INDEX ADDED. 



NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY GEORGE LANE, 

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE OFFICE, 
200 MULBERRY-STREET. 

J. Collord, Printer. 
1840. 



3 i , n 



V 



\v : 



Drew Theol. Sem, 

JAH24 



PREFACE TO WESLEYANA 



The opposers of Methodism have, both in their oral 
teachings and in their writings, often misrepresented its 
doctrines : some, perhaps, ignorantly and very bunglingly ; 
some artfully and very ingeniously; and some, we fear, 
wickedly. By some we have been represented as teach- 
ing that man makes the first step toward his recovery from 
sin ; that we are to expect justification by the merit of 
works ; that in so doing we rob Christ of his crown, and 
set aside the agency of the Holy Spirit ; while not a few 
suppose that we believe and teach the doctrine of absolute 
and immaculate perfection. As an answer to the first part 
of this charge, viz., "that man makes the first step toward 
his recovery from sin," we would say, Read our hymns. 

" What are our works but sin and death 
Till thou thy quick'ning Spirit breathe ; 
Thou giv'st the power thy grace to move : 
O wondrous grace ! O boundless love !" 

As an answer to the second, viz., " that we are to expect 
justification by works," let the following be noticed : — 

" Thou all our works in us hast wrought, 
Our good is all divine ; 
The praise of every virtuous thought 
And righteous word is thine." 

" Look unto him, ye nations ; own 
Your God, ye fallen race ; 
Look, and be saved through faith alone, 
Be justified by grace." 

To the third charge, viz., that of "robbing Christ of his 
crown," we must say, Read the following: — 

" A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, 
Into thy hands I fall ; 
Be thou my strength and righteousness, 
My Jesus and my all." 

** f loathe myself when God I see, 
And into nothing fall ; 
Content if thou exalted be, 
And Christ be all in all,". 



4 



PREFACE TO WESLEYANA. 



To the fourth charge, viz., " setting aside the agency of 
the Holy Spirit," we reply, Look at this :— 

•« Mercy and grace are thine alone, 

And power and wisdom too : 
Without the Spirit of thy Son 

We nothing good can do. 
We cannot speak one useful word, 

One holy thought conceive, 
Unless, in answer to our Lord, 

Thyself the blessing give." 

To the fifth charge, viz., that 44 the Methodists believe in 
absolute perfection as attainable in this life," we reply, 
We never taught, or even dreamed, of such a perfection 
as excludes all farther attainments, or higher degrees of 
love to God and man in this life, much less of such a state 
of grace from which it is impossible to fall. On this sub- 
ject our language is, — 

M Every moment, Lord, I need 
The merit of thy death." 

On the subject of the Methodist doctrines we are happy 
to give the views of one who has long been acquainted 
with them, and who is able to judge. 

To the Editor of the [Wesleyan] Methodist Magazine. 

I have lately been taking a view of the origin of Me- 
thodism, and of the manner in which it has pleased God 
so graciously to carry on that great work which has proved 
a source of good to hundreds of thousands of precious souls, 
and which still continues so graciously to prevail. 

When it pleased God to raise up the Rev. John Wesley 
to be the founder of Methodism, he resolved, through divine 
help, to make the Bible his only guide in all the important 
doctrines which he embraced, and which he faithfully de- 
livered to the people. His own language was, "I design 
plain truth for plain people : therefore, of set purpose, I 
abstain from all nice and philosophical speculations, from 
all perplexed and intricate reasonings, and, as far as pos- 
sible, from even the show of learning, unless in sometimes 
citing the original Scriptures." 

The following sentiments are also truly worthy of that 
great man : — " I am a creature of a day, passing through 



PREFACE TO WESLEYANA. 



■5 



life as an arrow through the air ; I am a spirit come from 
God, and returning to God, just hovering over the great 
gulf, till a few moments hence I am no more seen! I drop 
into an unchangeable eternity ! I want to know one thing, 
the way to heaven, how to land safe on that happy shore. 
God himself has condescended to teach the way ; for this 
very end he came down from heaven. He hath written 
it down in a book. O give me that book ! At any price 
give me the book of God ! I have it : here is knowledge 
enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri. Here then. 
I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone, 
only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his 
book j for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a 
doubt concerning the meaning of what I read 1 Does any 
thing appear dark and intricate ? I lift up my heart to the 
Father of lights. Lord, is it not thy word, ' If any man lack 
wisdom, let him ask of God V c Thou givest liberally, and 
upbraidest not V Thou hast said, * If any be willing to do 
thy will, he shall know.' I am willing to do, let me know 
thy will. I then search after, and consider parallel pas- 
sages of Scripture ; comparing spiritual things with spirit- 
ual. I meditate thereon with all the attention and earnest- 
ness of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still 
remain, I consult those who are experienced in the things 
of God ; and then the writings, whereby, being dead, they 
yet speak. And what I thus learn, that I teach." 

It was in the same spirit that the first Methodist preach- 
ers examined into the doctrines of the book of God. When 
the first conference was held, at which was present the 
Rev. John Wesley, the Rev. Charles Wesley, the Rev. 
John Hodges, rector of Wenvo, and several others, it is 
evident that they entered on the subject of Christian doc- 
trine in that spirit which was likely to draw down the 
divine blessing on their consultations. They resolved that 
all things should be considered as in the immediate pre- 
sence of God ; that every point which was proposed should 
be examined to the foundation ; and that every question 
which might arise should be thoroughly debated and set- 
tled. 

Having entered on their work in that blessed spirit, and 
with a single eye to the glory of God, we may reasonably 
expect that they would be led into all truth. The truths 



a 



PREFACE TO WESLEYANA. 



which they thus learned they faithfully preached. Divine 
power accompanied the word ; thousands of persons were 
awakened to a sense of their guilt and of their danger ; 
and being directed to the Lord Jesus Christ as their only, 
but all-sufficient Saviour, they found redemption through 
his blood, the forgiveness of their sins. Their lives be- 
came holy and happy, and many of the first Methodists 
are now safely landed on the heavenly shore. 

Through the peculiar providence of God, Mr. Wesley 
was long spared as a father to the growing societies ; and 
at various times was led to write on almost every subject 
connected with divinity. His Notes on the New Testa- 
ment, though concise, are clear and full. His Sermons 
are probably unrivalled for a clear statement of divine 
truth, and a practical and powerful application of that truth. 
His controversial pieces are on some of the most important 
truths of the Bible, which are defended in a masterly man- 
ner. In them truth is triumphant. His hymns, with those 
of his brother Charles, and a selection from some other 
authors, form a volume which, for real excellence, is pro- 
bably the first in the English language. The whole of his 
works taken collectively form a full statement of Scriptural 
truths, properly explained, and practically applied. On 
the ground which was laid during his life, Methodism has 
continued to prosper in an extraordinary manner, and 
hitherto has suffered no decay. On the present system 
of sound doctrine and proper discipline we have** reason to 
expect that it will continue to prevail till the ends of the 
earth shall see the salvation of God ; yea, till suns shall 
rise and set no more. 

As a member of the Methodist body, I feel anxious that 
we may ever preserve the purity both of our doctrine and 
our discipline ; and the purport of my addressing you, espe- 
cially at this time, is to state the peculiar necessity of our 
continuing to abide by our former truths, and of guarding 
the sacred deposite which God has committed to our care. 

There are two theories that have been advanced which 
appear to militate against our views of the important doc- 
trine of regeneration, as stated in the writings of Mr. Wes- 
ley, and more especially in the book of God. 

One of these theories is, that baptism, when properly 
administered, is regeneration. 



PitEFACE TO WESLEVANA. 



7 



That the apostles were not of that opinion is evident ; 
for when St. Peter went to Samaria he found Simon 
(generally termed Simon Magus) among the newly formed 
society of Christians who had been baptized. But so far 
was Peter from considering him as regenerated, that he 
said to him, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, 
for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. I perceive 
that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of 
iniquity." 

That our reformers* did not consider baptism as regene- 
ration is evident from the Catechism which they compiled, 
where they say that " baptism is an outward and visible 
sign of an inward and spiritual grace." And that Mr. Wes- 
ley was not of that opinion is also evident from all his 
writings, but especially from his Sermon on the New Birth, 
where he says, " And, first, it follows that baptism is not 
the new birth; they are not one and the same thing." 
Again: "For what can be more plain than that the one is 
an external, the other an internal work ? that the one is a 
visible, the other an invisible thing, and, therefore, that they 
are wholly different from each other — the one being an 
act of man, purifying the body ; the other, a change wrought 
by God in the soul. So that the former is just as distin- 
guishable from the latter as the soul from the body, or 
water from the Holy Ghost." 

The other theory is, that all professing Christians! are, 
^ the same sense in which the New Testament writers 
tise the expressions, regenerate, born again, justified, and 
members of Christ's body. Strange as this doctrine may 
appear, it has had its advocates ; but if we examine into 
the writings of the reformers, of Mr. Wesley, and also of 
those who were inspired by the Holy Ghost, we shall find 
that this novel theory is without foundation. 

Mr. Wesley is remarkably clear on this subject. In 
his Sermon on the Marks of the New Birth he says, "But 
it is not a barely notional or speculative faith which is 
here spoken of by the apostle. It is not a bare assent to 
this proposition, ' Jesus is the Christ,' nor indeed to all the 
propositions contained in our creed, or in the Old and New 

* The compilers of the Book of Common Prayer.— Eds. 
t The Episcopalians only hold this sentiment. — Eds. 



PREFACE TO WESLEYANA. 



Testament. It is not merely an assent to any or all these 
credible things as credible. To say this, were to say 
(which who could hear?) that the devils were born of God, 
for they have this faith. They, trembling, believe both 
that Jesus is the Christ, and that all Scripture, having been 
given by inspiration of God, is true as God is true. &c, 
yet, notwithstanding this faith, they are still ' reserved in 
chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day.' " 
In his Sermon on the Way to the Kingdom, his expres- 
sions are equally strong and equally proper. " A man may 
be orthodox in every point; he may not only espouse right 
opinions, but zealously defend them against all opposers ; 
he may think justly concerning the incarnation of our 
Lord, concerning the ever blessed Trinity, and every other 
doctrine contained in the oracles of God ; he may assent 
to all the three creeds, that called the Apostles', the Ni- 
cene, and the Athanasian ; and yet it is possible he may 
have no religion at all, no more than a Jew, Turk, or Pa- 
gan. He may be almost as orthodox as the devil, &c, 
and may all the while be as great a stranger as he to the 
religion of the heart." 

We must be careful not to anathematize those persons 
who do not think with us. To their own Master they 
stand or fall. But we, as a body of people whom the 
Lord has graciously raised up as out of the dust, and whom 
he has honoured with almost unexampled prosperity in the 
revival of his work, must be careful to " walk by the same 
rule, and mind the same things." Of Methodism, as to 
purity of doctrine, soundness of discipline, and true Chris- 
tian experience, I would ever say, " Esto perpetua" 

G. Marsdex. 

In addition to the above, we need only observe that to 
the young preacher, the sincere inquirer who wishes to 
know what were Mr. Wesley's own views of Scripture 
doctrine, and to every Methodist, as a book of reference, 
Wesleyana will always be an acceptable and useful com- 
panion. Editors. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

OF THE LATE 

REV. JOHN WESLEY, A.M. 



The name of John Wesley has long been known and 
honoured by thousands, in every part of the world where 
the English language is spoken or understood. An ex- 
tensive and growing society, in England and her depend- 
encies, and a flourishing church in this country, of which 
he undesignedly became the founder, appreciate his la- 
bours, and venerate his memory. Beyond the circle of 
his immediate connection, however, little has been known 
till recently respecting the real history and sentiments of 
this extraordinary man. The publication of " The Life 
of Wesley," by Mr. Southey, attracted much of public 
attention, and excited a pretty general desire to know 
something respecting an individual whose labours have 
produced a revolution in the moral world, the effect of 
which has been felt by the antipodes. " Among those 
who have appeared as the biographers of Wesley, some," 
says Mr. Southey, " have wanted the heart to understand 
his worth, or the will to do it justice ; others have not pos- 
sessed freedom or strength of intellect to perceive wherein 
he was erroneous. Nor are these the only difficulties 
which have interposed themselves in the way of an im- 
partial and just biography of the founder of Methodism. 
To delineate the character of one so opposing and oppo- 
sed calls not only for the utmost candour, and the strictest 
impartiality, but also for a clear apprehension and a deep 
conviction of the importance of those subjects, the interests 

1* 



10 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 

of which it was the great business of his life to advance. 71 
Watson's " Observations on Southey's Life of Wesley" 
should always be read in connection with that work. 

The subject of the present sketch was descended from 
a family of high respectability for learning, and consider- 
able eminence for piety. Bartholomew Wesley, his great- 
grandfather, received his education in one of the univer- 
sities, and afterward held the living of Allington in Dor- 
setshire. From this he was ejected by the " Act of Uni- 
formity and the medical knowledge which he had 
acquired, from motives of charity, became the means of 
his subsistence. John, his son, was educated at New Inn 
Hall, Oxford, in the time of the Commonwealth ; he was 
distinguished for his piety, and eminent for his attainments 
in the Oriental tongues. He was presented to the living 
of Blandford, whence he also was ejected for non-confor- 
mity. He continued to preach in various places, in the 
midst of relentless persecutors, and died at the early age 
of 34 years. Bartholomew, his father, was then living, 
but did not long survive the premature death of his son. 
John Wesley left two sons, of whom Samuel, the father 
of the founder of Methodism, was the younger. At an 
early age, (some of his biographers say sixteen, but from 
extracts given by Mr. Southey, from registers of the col- 
lege, it appears he was twenty-two.) he walked to Oxford, 
and entered himself as a poor scholar at Exeter College. 
Here he was obliged to support himself by instructing the 
younger students, till he took his bachelor's degree. He 
then went to London, and was ordained deacon. He ob- 
tained a curacy, which he held twelve months, when he 
was appointed chaplain on board the fleet. At the end 
of one year he returned to London, and obtained a second 
curacy, and married Susannah, daughter of Dr. Annesley, 
one of the ejected ministers. Mr. Samuel Wesley was 
among the first who wrote in defence of the revolution of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY 



II 



1688. This work he dedicated to Queen Mary, who re- 
warded him with the living of Epworth, in Lincolnshire, 
about the year 1693, which he held for upward of forty 
years, and where he died, respected and beloved by his 
parishioners. His wife Susannah was a woman of a 
highly improved mind, of a strong understanding, a good 
judgment, and of deep and genuine piety. She discharged 
the various duties of life with the most scrupulous fidelity. 
She was an excellent wife, and an exemplary parent ; and 
it is but reasonable to believe that to her pious instructions 
and Christian deportment is attributable, in a great degree, 
the formation of those principles which in after life so 
eminently distinguished her sons, John and Charles Wes- 
ley. She died 23d of July, 1742. 

Mr. John Wesley, the subject of the present sketch, was 
the second son of Samuel and Susannah Wesley ; he was 
born at Epworth, on the 17th of June, 1703, O. S. When 
he was nearly six years of age, he narrowly escaped be- 
ing consumed in the flames of his father's house, which 
took fire. This occurrence made a deep impression on 
his mind, which he retained ever afterward. John, with 
his brothers and sisters, received the first rudiments of his 
education from his mother, who was well qualified for such 
a duty. Her labours and prayers were crowned with suc- 
cess, and when about eight years old, he began to partake 
of the sacrament. In 1714 he was placed at the Charter- 
house, where he was distinguished for his diligence and 
progress in learning : and at seventeen he was removed 
to Christ Church, Oxford. Prior to his removal from the 
Charter-house, he had acquired some considerable know- 
ledge of Hebrew under the tuition of his brother Samuel ; 
and he now pursued his studies with unabated vigour, and 
with additional advantages. " He appeared," says Mr. 
Badcock, in the Westminster Magazine, " the very sensi- 
ble and acute collegian — a young fellow of the finest clas- 



12 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY, 



sical taste, of the most liberal and manly sentiments." His 
skill in logic was great, " by which," says Mr. Southey, 
" he frequently put to silence those who contended with 
him in after life. No man, indeed, was ever more dex- 
terous in the art of reasoning." His perfect knowledge of 
the classics gave a smooth polish to his wit, and an air of 
superior elegance to all his compositions. Like his fa- 
ther and his brother, he was no inconsiderable poet in 
his youth, but this was a talent which he forbore to use. 
When the time arrived for him to think seriously of enter- 
ing into holy orders, he began to feel some scruples as to 
the motives by which he might be influenced in taking so 
solemn and important a step. This led him to close self- 
examination, to much prayer, and a closer application to 
theological studies. He determined to give himself wholly 
to God ; and having prepared himself with the most con- 
scientious care for the ministerial office, he was ordained 
deacon, by Dr. Potter, bishop of Oxford, on the 19th of 
September, 1725. In the ensuing spring he offered him- 
self for a fellowship at Lincoln College, to which he was 
elected in the month of March, though not without very 
considerable opposition. In the following month he left 
Oxford for Epworth, where he spent the whole summer, 
assisting his father in his ministerial duties. He returned 
to Oxford in the month of September, and in the Novem- 
ber following was elected Greek lecturer and moderator 
of the classes. On his removal to Lincoln College, he 
resolved to avoid forming an acquaintance with such as 
were not seriously given to God, and to devote his whole 
time to study and meditation. He laid down for himself 
a plan of proceeding to which he conscientiously adhered, 
and from which he derived the most lasting benefit. His 
literary character was now established in the University ; 
and on the 15th of February in the next year, he pro- 
ceeded to master of arts. In the month of August fol- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 13 

lowing he left Oxford for Wroote, one of his father's liv- 
ings, to officiate as his curate. After remaining here two 
years, he was summoned back to Oxford, where he was 
ordained priest, by Dr. Potter, who had before ordained 
him deacon. In the following month he again left Ox- 
ford for Lincolnshire, and did not return till June 1729. 
On his return he found a little society formed by his bro- 
ther Charles, and two or three under-graduates, for the 
purpose of assisting each other in their studies, and the 
cultivation of their time. This infant society now placed 
itself under the direction of John : its numbers were soon, 
augmented : they visited the prisoners in the castle, and 
the sick poor of the town, to relieve whose distress they 
denied themselves many of the necessaries of life. Their 
rules of study and discipline, with their regular attendance 
at the sacrament every week, soon drew upon them the 
notice and sneers of the college, and procured for them 
the harmless name of Methodists. To the younger mem- 
bers of the University their conduct was matter of general 
ridicule ; and the elder and wiser ones considered their 
course as fast verging to extravagance and enthusiasm : 
a meeting was held at Christ Church, by the seniors of 
the College, to consult in what manner the evil might be 
checked. Their efforts, however, proved fruitless ; and 
notwithstanding the turning aside of some of the members 
of this little community, others were added to their num- 
bers, and steadfastly adhered to their rules. It should not 
be omitted, that these pious young gentlemen were all 
zealous members of the Church of England ; not only 
tenacious of all her doctrines, as far as they yet under- 
stood them, but of all her discipline, to the minutest cir- 
cumstance. They also added to their former practices a 
regular observance of the fasts of the Church, rightly con- 
sidering that the general neglect into which they had fallen 
would afford no excuse for them. In the summer of 1732 



14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY, 



John, with his two brothers, visited Epworth. For some 
time their father had been declining, and he was most so- 
licitous that the cure in which he had so long laboured 
should be secured for his son John. Upon the first men- 
tion of this subject John appears to have hesitated as to 
the course he should adopt ; and after maturely consider- 
ing the subject, he determined to remain at Oxford, from 
a conviction that he should there have better opportunities 
of promoting his spiritual welfare. Having come to this 
determination, he resolved to seclude himself from the 
world, and give himself up entirely to religious pursuits, 
intent only upon obtaining " the wisdom that is from 
above." One of the first subjects to which Mr. Wesley 
now turned his attention was the nature of " Christian li- 
berty," which he discussed at some length in a letter to 
his mother, whose opinion he was desirous of having upon 
the subject. For the discussion of this question, however, 
he is pronounced by one of his biographers to have been 
incompetent. " For, (1.) He was not justified, — conse- 
quently not free from the guilt of sin. He could not 
therefore judge of the ' glorious liberty of the children 
of God,' which he ably stated afterward in several of his 
sermons. (2.) He had no clear conception of that ' unc- 
tion of the Holy One/ whereby we are to ' know all 
things' necessary for our walk with God. 1 Walk in the 
Spirit,' — and ' walk in the light, as He is in the light,' 
were precepts as yet too high for him. He had not passed 
the ? strait gate,' and could scarcely estimate the privi- 
leges of the ' narrow way.' "* 

In the month of April 1735, Mr. Wesley's father died, 
and in the following month the living of Epworth was 
given away : so that he now considered himself as fully 
settled at Oxford without the probability of being further 

* Moore's Life of Wesley. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY, 15 



molested in his quiet retreat. But a new scene of action 
was soon opened to his view. Going to London to carry 
into effect his father's desire of presenting his work upon 
the Book of Job to Queen Caroline, he found that the trus- 
tees of the new colony of Georgia were in search of per- 
sons who would preach the gospel there to the settlers 
and Indians, and that they had fixed their eyes upon him 
and his associates, as men who possessed the habits and 
the qualities requisite for such a service. Dr. Burton, of 
Corpus Christi College, who highly esteemed Mr. Wesley, 
was one of the trustees, and being in London at this time, 
introduced him to Mr. Oglethorpe, the founder of the colony. 
At first Mr. Wesley did not see his way clear to accept 
the invitation ; but after having consulted his friends, and 
obtained his mother's assent, he determined upon engag- 
ing in the work. It had been the intention of his brother 
Charles to spend all his days at Oxford as a tutor, for he 
dreaded exceedingly to enter into orders : now, however, 
he determined to accompany his brother. He engaged 
himself as secretary to Mr. Oglethorpe, and also as secre- 
tary for Indian affairs. A little before he left England he 
was ordained deacon, by Dr. Potter, bishop of Oxford; 
and then priest, by Dr. Gibson, bishop of London. On 
the 14th of October, 1735, Mr. Wesley and his brother 
Charles left London for Gravesend, accompanied by Mr. 
Ingham, and Mr. Delamotte, in order to embark for Geor- 
gia. " Our end," says he, "in leaving our native country, 
was not to avoid want, (God having given us plenty of tem- 
poral blessings,) nor to gain riches and honour ; but singly 
this, to save our souls, to live wholly to the glory of God." 
On board the same vessel there were twenty-six Moravi- 
ans, going to join a party of their brethren who had gone 
out the preceding year. Mr. Wesley was much struck 
with the Christian deportment, the fervent piety, and the 
great simplicity, of these his shipmates ; and immediately 



16 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 



set himself to study the German language, in order to con- 
verse with them. During the voyage he and his asso- 
ciates put themselves under a severe course of Christian 
discipline, and adopted every means for redeeming and 
improving their time. 

On the 5th of February, 1736, they arrived in Savan- 
nah river in Georgia, and about eight the next morning 
landed on a small uninhabited island, where Air. Ogle- 
thorpe led them to a rising ground, and they all knelt and 
returned thanks to God for having arrived in safety. The 
brothers now separated. Charles went with Air. Ingham 
to Frederica, and John and Air. Delamotte took up their 
lodging with the Moravians at Savannah. Mr. Wesley 
had not long entered upon his work before he encountered 
much opposition. The new colony could not endure the 
strictness and earnestness with which he enforced the 
doctrines and practice of religion, and inveighed against 
every thing which savoured not of the gospel. The op- 
position became at length so general that a reconciliation 
seemed impossible ; and Air. Wesley, after advising with 
his Moravian friends, determined to return to England. 
M I saw clearly, 5 ' says he, el the hour was come for leav- 
ing this place : and as soon as evening prayers were over, 
about eight o'clock, the tide then serving, I shook off the 
dust of my feet, and left Georgia, after having preached 
the gospel there, (not as I ought, but as I was able.) one 
year and nearly nine months." 

During his voyage to England Mr. Wesley entered into 
a close and severe examination of himself, of which he 
thus records the result : " By the most infallible proofs I 
am convinced, — (1.) of unbelief; having no such faith in 
Christ as will prevent my heart from being troubled — (2.) 
of pride, throughout my life past, inasmuch as I thought I 
had what I find I have not — (3.) of gross irrecollection ; 
inasmuch as in a storm I cry to God every moment ; in a 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY, 



17 



calm, not — (4.) of levity and luxuriancy of spirit, — appear- 
ing by my speaking words not tending to edify ; but most 
by my manner of speaking of my enemies. — Lord, save, 
or I perish! Save me, — (1.) by such a faith as implies 
peace in life and death — (2.) by such humility as may fill 
my heart from this hour for ever, with a piercing uninter- 
rupted sense that hitherto I have done no thing— (3.) by 
such a recollection as may enable me to cry out every 
moment — (4.) by steadiness, seriousness, oefivorrjTi, sobri- 
ety of spirit, avoiding as fire every word that tendeth not 
to edifying, and never speaking of any who oppose me, or 
sin against God, without all my own sins set in array be- 
fore my face." He now felt more than ever the want of 
that living faith which he afterward so clearly explained 
and successfully enforced. " I went to America," says 
he, " to convert the Indians ; but O ! who shall convert 
me ? who is he that will deliver me from this evil heart 
of unbelief? I have a fair summer religion; I can talk 
well, nay, and believe myself safe while no danger is near ; 
but let death look me in the face, and my spirit is trou- 
bled : nor can I say, ' To die is gain !' " 

On the 1st of February, 1738, Mr. Wesley landed at 
Deal, where he was informed Mr. Whitefield had sailed 
the day before for Georgia. He read prayers, and ex- 
plained a portion of Scripture to a large company at the 
inn ; and on the third day arrived safe in London. In re- 
viewing the past occurrences of his life at this time, Mr. 
Wesley appears to have been deeply affected with a lively 
sense of many providential interpositions which had been 
effected in his behalf ; and however painful to his feel- 
ings, and detrimental to his worldly prospects, the voyage 
to Georgia appears to have been, he heartily thanked God 
for having carried him to that strange land. After wait- 
ing on General Oglethorpe and on the trustees of Geor- 
gia, he was invited to preach in several of the churches. 



18 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 



He now began to be popular, appearing in a new charac- 
ter, as a missionary lately returned from preaching the 
gospel to the Indians in America. The crowded churches, 
together with the offence given by his plain and heart- 
searching sermons, produced in each place, at last, the 
following repulsion: "Sir, you must preach here no 
more." 

About this time the two Wesdeys became acquainted 
with Peter Boehler ; they soon became strongly attached to 
each other ; and by his conversation they were more deeply 
convinced of their utter want of the faith of the gospel. 
John now began to think that he ought to desist from 
preaching — for how could he preach to others who had 
not faith himself ? He consulted Boehler, who charged 
him not to relinquish his work. " But what can I preach: 5 ' 
said Air. Wesley. " Preach faith till you have it/' said 
the Moravian ; " and then, because you have it, you v:ill 
preach faith." In conformity with this advice he now de- 
clared everywhere " the faith as it is in Jesus," and 
many willingly heard, and " received it gladly." About 
this time he began to pray extempore, as did also his bro- 
ther Charles ; a practice for which they were greatly cen- 
sured by some persons, particularly by their brother Sa- 
muel. 

On the first of May, about forty or fifty persons, many 
of whom were Moravians, agreed to form themselves into 
a relisdous society, in obedience to the command of God 
by St. James, (v. 16.) and Mr. Wesley drew up the rules. 
They were to be divided into several bands or little com- 
panies, none consisting of fewer than five, nor more than 
ten persons. In these bands every one in order engaged 
to speak as freely, plainly, and concisely, as he could, the 
real state of his heart, with his several temptations and 
deliverances since the last meeting. On Wednesday even- 
ings, at eight o'clock, all the bands were to have a confer- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 19 

ence, beginning and ending with hymns and prayers. Any 
person who desired admittance into this society was to be 
asked, what were his motives 1 — whether he would be en- 
tirely open, using no kind of reserve, and whether he ob- 
jected to any of the rules ? When he should be proposed, 
every one present, who felt any objection to his admission, 
should state it fairly and fully : they who were received 
on trial were to be formed into distinct bands, and some 
experienced person chosen to assist them : and if no ob- 
jection appeared to them after two months, they might 
then be admitted into the society. Every fourth Saturday 
was to be observed as a day of general intercession ; and 
on the Sunday following a general love-feast was to be 
held from seven till ten in the evening. The last rule 
provided that no member should be allowed to act in any 
thing contrary to any order of the society, and that any 
person who did not conform to these orders, after be- 
ing thrice admonished, should no longer be esteemed a 
member. 

This association has been called the first Methodist so- 
ciety in London. Mr. Wesley distinguishes the origin 
of Methodism into three several periods. "The first rise 
of Methodism," says he, " was in November, 1729, when 
four of us met together at Oxford : the second was at Sa- 
vannah in April 1736, when twenty or thirty persons met 
at my house : the last was at London, on this day, when 
forty or fifty of us agreed to meet together every Wednes- 
day evening, in order to conversation, begun and ended 
with singing and prayer." This meeting was obviously 
a merely religious society, and hence Mr. Wesley, not- 
withstanding such a union with the Moravians, continued 
a member and minister of the Established Church, preach- 
ing in those pulpits to which he was invited, till all the 
churches were shut against him. 



20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 



We now arrive at an important period in the life of the 
founder of Methodism, and concerning which there has 
been much diversity of opinion. We have already seen 
that Mr. Wesley had not attained that assurance of his 
pardon, and of the consequent favour of God toward him, 
which he found to be enjoyed by many with whom he as- 
sociated : this led him to pray earnestly for this " best 
gift," and to resolve not to rest satisfied without it. His 
state of mind at this time he thus pathetically expresses : 
" I know every thought, every temper of my soul, ought 
to bear God's image and superscription. But how am I 
fallen from the glory of God ! I feel that ' I am sold un- 
der sin.' I know that I, too, deserve nothing but wrath, 
being full of all abominations, and having no good thing in 
me to atone for them, or to remove the wrath of God. 
All my works, my righteousness, my prayers, need an 
atonement for themselves. So that my mouth is stopped. 
I have nothing to plead. God is holy ; I am unholy. God 
is a consuming fire : I am altogether a sinner, meet to be 
consumed. Yet I hear a voice, (and is it not the voice 
of God ?) saying, 4 Believe, and thou shalt be saved. God 
so loved the w r orld, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life.' 0, let no one deceive us by vain 
words, as if we had already attained this faith ! By its 
fruits we shall know. Do we already feel, ' peace with 
God,' and - joy in the Holy Ghost V Does his Spirit bear 
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God ? 
Alas ! with mine he does not. O thou Saviour of men, 
save us from trusting in any thing but thee ! Draw us 
after thee ! Let us be emptied of ourselves, and then 
fill us with 4 all peace and joy in believing, and let nothing 
separate us from thy love, in time or in eternity !' " 

His deliverance from this distressing state of mind is 
thus related by himself. " On Wednesday, May 24th> 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 21 

about five o'clock in the morning, I opened my Greek Tes- 
tament on those words 4 There are given unto us exceed- 
ing great and precious promises, that by these ye might 
be partakers of the divine nature,' 2 Pet. i. 4. Just as I 
went out, I opened it again on those words, 6 Thou art 
not far from the kingdom of God.' In the afternoon I was 
asked to go to St. Paul's. The anthem was, ' Out of the 
deep have I called unto thee, O Lord : Lord, hear my 
voice. O let thine ears consider well the voice of my 
complaint. If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what 
is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it ? But there is 
mercy with thee, therefore thou shalt be feared. O Is- 
rael, trust in the Lord ; for with the Lord there is mercy, 
and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall re- 
deem Israel from all his sins.' In the evening I went 
very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-street, where 
one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Ro- 
mans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describ- 
ing the change which God works in the heart through 
faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed : I felt 
I did trust in Christ, — Christ alone for salvation : and an 
assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, 
even mine, and saved me from 4 the law of sin and death.' 
Immediately I began to pray with all my might for those 
who had, in a more especial manner, despitefully used 
me and persecuted me, and then testified openly to all 
there what I now first felt in my heart." But it was not 
long before the enemy suggested " this cannot be faith, 
for where is thy joy ?" After this he was often in heavi- 
ness through manifold temptations. Sometimes fear sud- 
denly came upon him ; fear, that he had deceived him- 
self, and stopped short of that grace of God for which he 
had sought. Few helped, and many strove (most of them 
ignorantly) to hinder him ; to cause him to cast " away 
that confidence which hath great recompence of reward." 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J, WESLEY. 

Under these exercises of mind he determined to retire for 
a short time to Germany, to visit the Moravians at Hern- 
huth, that " conversing with those holy men who were 
themselves living witnesses of the full power of faith, and 
yet able to bear with those that are weak, might be a 
means, under God, of so establishing his soul that he 
might u go on from faith to faith, and from strength to 
strength." Having taken leave of his mother, he em- 
barked at Gravesend, accompanied by Mr. Ingham. On 
the 15th of June he arrived at Rotterdam, and on the 15th 
of August at Hernhuth, the Moravian settlement in Upper 
Lusatia. Here he remained a fortnight, and left the Mo- 
ravians, much strengthened by their religious advice and 
experience, and resolved to do and suffer whatever God 
should permit to come upon him in the prosecution of his 
great design of spending his life in testifying the gospel 
of the grace of God. On his return to London, he found 
the little society, which, during his absence, had been 
watched over by his brother Charles, consisting of thirty- 
two persons ; and many other religious communities, in 
various parts of the town, received him gladly. He now 
embraced every opportunity of enforcing the truths of the 
gospel, and multitudes flocked to hear him preach. In 
the latter end of the year Mr. Whitefield returned from 
Georgia, and on his arrival in London he associated him- 
self with Mr. Wesley and his little band. Most of the 
churches being now shut against them, they began, not 
without considerable reluctance, as it appears, to preach 
in the highways the glad tidings of the gospel. " When 
I was told I must preach no more in this, and this, and 
another church," says Mr. Wesley, " so much the more 
those who could not hear me there flocked together when 
I was at any of the societies ; where I spoke more or 
less, though with much inconvenience, to as many as the 
room I was in would contain. But after a time, finding 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 23 

those rooms could not contain a tenth part of the people 
that were earnest to hear, I determined to do the same 
thing in England which I had often done in a warmer 
climate, namely, when the house would not contain the 
congregation, to preach in the open air. This I accord- 
ingly did, first in Bristol, where the society-rooms were 
exceedingly small ; and at Kingswood, where we had no 
room at all ; afterward in or near London." At Bristol, 
whither he had been invited by Mr. Whitefield, many thou- 
sands attended his preaching : a society was speedily 
formed upon the same plan as the one in London : a visi- 
ble change was effected in the lives of hundreds of the 
people, and on Saturday the 12th of May, 1739, the first 
Stone of the first Methodist chapel was laid in this place. 
During his absence from London, various disputes had 
arisen in the society there, occasioned by several of the 
members having imbibed the notions that "the means 
of grace" are useless, or rather hinderances, to the attain- 
ment of true religion ; that there are no degrees in faith ; 
and that pious frauds are justifiable. Finding there was 
no time to delay without destroying what he believed to 
be the cause of God, he resolved to strike at the root of 
the grand delusion. Accordingly, every day, for a week 
in succession, he bore the most unequivocal testimony 
against these unscriptural, mischievous refinements, by 
which the majority of his former followers had been 
weaned from him, and from the simplicity of the gospel. 
This proving unavailing, and finding that the disaffected 
members laboured to pervert the few who continued faith- 
ful, he saw nothing remained but that he should give them 
up to God ; which he did in the most solemn manner, on 
Sunday, July 20, 1740. Eighteen or nineteen persons 
withdrew with him. He now met his little society at the 
preaching-house in Moorfields, known by the name of the 
Foundry. In this place he also regularly preached. His 



24 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J, WESLEY. 



society rapidly increased : and he now found it requisite 
to draw up, jointly with his brother, rules for the govern- 
ment of his growing societies. These are known as the 
" Rules of the Methodist Society/' and either are, or 
should be, presented to every member upon his admission 
among them. 

For a considerable time Air. Whitefield continued to 
labour in connection with the Wesleys ; but upon his se- 
cond visit to America he imbibed the doctrines termed 
Calymistic ; and on his return to England he could not 
join his old friends in the work of the ministry as before. 
This diversity of sentiment between these two eminent 
men soon gave rise to a controversy, which was conducted 
with good temper on both sides ; and the result of which 
was, an agreement to differ, retaining their former friend- 
ship, and each endeavouring to effect as much good as 
possible. From this time their mutual regard and friendly 
intercourse suffered no interruption till Air. AYhitefield's 
death. His funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Wesley, 
who bore ample testimony to the undissembled piety, the- 
ardent zeal, and the extensive usefulness, of his much 
loved and honoured friend. 

As the people who had placed themselves under his 
care daily increased, he was involved in considerable dif- 
ficulty for want of additional assistance in visiting and 
preaching. He had at first hoped that the ministers of the 
Establishment would have taken part in the business. In 
this, however, he was disappointed, which induced him to 
try other methods, and ultimately led to the appointment 
of lay-preachers. 

Mr. Wesley having obtained several helpers, all of them 
men truly devoted to God, Methodism spread in every di- 
rection. It had now assumed some form and consistence. 
Chapels had been built, societies formed and disciplined, 
funds raised, rules enacted, lay-preachers admitted, and a 
regular system of itinerancy begun. And now, also, it had 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY, 25 

to contend with much violent opposition. At Bristol, 
London, Wednesbury, Falmouth, Cornwall, and Sheffield, 
particularly, the persecution raged horribly, and many of 
the preachers, as well as Mr. Wesley, were frequently in 
imminent danger of their lives. So far from damping their 
ardour, however, this opposition appeared to give it a new 
zest : they bore onward " through evil and through good 
report," till many hundreds of their most violent and de- 
termined enemies became converts to Methodism, and or- 
naments to society. 

We have now arrived at an important era in the history 
of Methodism, viz.. the institution of that annual assembly 
of preachers which is known under the name of the Con- 
ference, in which everything relative to the affairs of Me- 
thodism is examined and determined. In the year 1744 
Mr. Wesley invited his brother Charles, four other cler- 
gymen, and four of his lay -preachers, to meet with him, for 
the purpose of regulating the circuits into which the various 
parts of the kingdom had been divided, and also for a re- 
view of their doctrine and discipline ; as well as the exa- 
mination into the moral conduct and fitness for the work 
of all the preachers in the connection. 

The first conference was begun by recording their de- 
sire, " that all things might be considered as in the imme- 
diate presence of God ; that they might meet with a single 
eye, and as little children who had every thing to learn ; 
that every point which was proposed might be examined 
to the foundation ; that every person might speak freely 
whatever was in his heart ; and that every question which 
might arise should be thoroughly debated and settled." 
They observed, that there was no reason to be afraid of 
doing this, lest they should overturn their first principles ; 
for if they were false, the sooner they were overturned the 
better ; if they were true, they would bear the strictest ex- 
amination. With regard to the judgment of the majority, 
they agreed that, in speculative things, each could only 

2 



20 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 



submit so far as his judgment should be convinced ; and 
that, in every practical point, each would submit so far as 
he could without wounding his conscience. Thus they 
laid the foundation for union in sentiment, without violating 
the principles of private judgment. 

When about the age of fifty, Mr. Wesley entered into 
the marriage state with a Mrs. Yizelle, a widow lady, ap- 
parently of exemplary piety, and well adapted to become 
the partner of such a man. In the issue of this step, how- 
ever, he was wofully disappointed : and after causing him 
twenty years of sore disquietude, she departed, never in- 
tending to return. Finding that this was her determina- 
tion, Air. Wesley remarks in his Journal, " I did not for- 
sake her : I did not dismiss her : I will not recall her." 

Having fully considered his situation, Mr. Wesley de- 
termined to continue in the course in which he had been 
honoured with so much success, and, girding up his 
strength, he pressed onward with renewed ardour. In the 
year 1751 he paid his first visit to Scotland. Here he 
stopped but a short time ; but the congregations were nu- 
merous, many were cut to the heart, and several joined 
together in a little society. In October, 1753, he was vi- 
sited with a dangerous illness, his life was despaired of, 
and not knowing how it might please God to dispose of 
him, and wishing £; to prevent vile panegyric" in case of 
death, he wrote as follows : 

HERE LIETH 

THE BODY OF JOHN WESLEY, 

A BRAND PLUCKED OUT OF THE BURNING : 
WHO DIED OF A CONSUMPTION IN THE FIFTY-FIRST YEAR 
OF HIS AGE : 
NOT LEAVING, AFTER HIS DEBTS ARE PAID, 
TEN POUNDS BEHIND HIM ; 
PRAYING, 

GOD BE MERCIFUL TO ME AN UNPROFIT- 
ABLE SERVANT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY, 



27 



He ordered that this inscription, if any, should be placed 
on his tomb-stone. After being confined to his room for 
nearly four months, he began to recover, and was soon 
sufficiently strengthened to enter again on his work. It 
was during this period that he wrote his Notes on the New 
Testament. 

The destructive errors of Antinomianism were at this 
time spreading extensively their baneful influence ; nor 
did the Methodist societies wholly escape the contagion. 
They were not infected, however, to the extent which Mr. 
Southey seems to suppose : the discipline of Methodism op- 
posed an insuperable barrier to this. In order to strengthen 
this bulwark against the overflowing of ungodliness, the 
evil principle which occasioned it became a matter of deep 
and serious consideration in the Conference of 1770, in the 
minutes of which, published shortly after, were inserted 
a series of propositions on the subject. This step was 
considered by the Calvinistic party as a signal for the 
commencement of hostilities. The controversy now fully 
commenced, and was continued for some time ; but com- 
mitted almost wholly to Mr. Fletcher, the pious vicar of 
Madely, who had previously espoused the cause of Mr. 
Wesley. Speaking of Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Southey says, 
" he was a man of rare talents, and rarer virtue. No age 
or country has ever produced a man of more fervent piety, 
or more perfect charity ; no church has ever possessed a 
more apostolic minister." The controversy was carried 
on with much rancour by Augustus Toplady, a man of 
quick and lively intellect, but highly injudicious, hasty in 
forming conclusions, and intemperate in advancing them ; 
much addicted to the use of coarse language, and disgust- 
ingly personal in all his attacks. All this, however, had 
no effect upon the heavenly minded Fletcher. The bio- 
grapher just cited says of him, " If ever truly Christian 
charity was manifested in polemical writing, it was by 



28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 

Fletcher of Madely. Even theological controversy never, 
in the slightest degree, irritated his heavenly temper. 
Upon the score of controversial offences few men have 
ever had so little need to ask forgiveness. When he 
offended his antagonists it was not by any personalities, 
or the slightest breathing of a malicious spirit, but by the 
ironical manner in which he displayed the real nature 
of their monstrous doctrines. Mr. Wesley, also, by the 
unanswerable manner in which he treated the Calvinistic 
question, drew upon himself the fierce resentment of a 
host of enemies. They were confounded, but they would 
not be convinced ; and they assailed him with a degree 
of rancorous hatred which, even in theological contro- 
versy, has seldom, if ever, been exceeded." 

In the year 1753 Mr. Wesley again visited Scotland; 
hundreds and thousands flocked to hear, and many were 
added to the societies. Preachers were now regularly 
appointed to labour here, and the influence of Methodism 
continued to spread, though not with that rapidity, or to 
that extent, which it did in England. 

Hitherto the Methodist society in London had occupied 
the old Foundry at Moorflelds as a place of worship ; but 
on the 1st of April, 1777, Mr. Wesley laid the first stone 
of the chapel in the City-Road, which was opened for 
public worship on the first of November in the year fol- 
lowing. In the year 1780 Mr. Wesley was engaged in a 
controversy with Father O'Leary, a Capuchin friar. It 
lias been remarked, that " Mr. Wesley's propositions were 
a wall of adamant ; and that Father O'Leary's arguments 
were as boiled peas shot against it," In the year 1783 
Mr. Wesley visited Holland, where he was well received 
by many persons of the highest respectability. He 
repeated his visit in 1786, and preached in many of 
the churches, as well as in many private houses ; but 
he did not, nor does it appear to have been any part of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 29 

his design in visiting that country, to form any societies 
there. 

The year 1784 is remarkable in the annals of Method- 
ism for the solidity given to its affairs by the deed of de- 
claration enrolled in chancery, by which the numerous 
chapels in the connection were secured to the Conference, 
who, by the execution of this deed, became a legal body, 
and obtained the exclusive right of appointing preachers 
to the circuits and chapels. During this year also the in- 
terests of Methodism in America were much strengthened 
and extended by giving to that people the benefits of a full 
and regularly ordained Christian ministry. Methodism 
had been introduced into New-York by a local preacher 
who had removed thither from Ireland. A regular society 
was formed in 1768, and they resolved to build a preach- 
ing-house. About the same time another local preacher 
from Ireland settled in Frederick county, in Maryland, and, 
preaching there, formed some societies. Encouraged by 
their success, they wrote to Mr. Wesley for help, who 
sent to their assistance two of his itinerant preachers. 
These were followed by two more in 1771, and two more 
followed in 1773. When the war of the revolution became 
general in that country, those preachers who had espoused 
the British cause were obliged to return. Francis Asbury 
alone remained, who, however, was obliged to shelter 
himself, for two years, in the house of a friend, before he 
dared to venture abroad. Methodism, meantime, had been 
kept alive by a few native preachers. It even increased, 
notwithstanding all difficulties, and at the conference held 
at Philadelphia in the year 1777, it appeared that there 
were forty preachers in the different circuits, and about 
7000 members in the societies, beside^ many hundreds 
of coloured persons who had been brought under the in- 
fluence of their teaching. The society, however, as the 
war continued, was in danger of being broken up by their 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 

deprivation of the sacraments. The clergy of the Eng- 
lish establishment had left the country, and neither the 
Presbyterians, the Independents, nor the Baptists, would 
administer the ordinances of baptism, or the Lord's supper, 
to them, unless they would renounce their connection with 
Mr. Wesley, and join their respective churches. These 
necessities were met, on the part of some of the preachers, 
who took upon themselves to administer the sacraments. 
This caused a division among them : the party separating 
chose from among themselves three senior brethren, who 
ordained others by the imposition of hands. The breach, 
however, was afterward healed, the separatists returned 
to the society, and by the vote of a subsequent conference 
the ordination was declared invalid. This step left the 
people in the same situation as they were before. When 
peace was established with the mother country, the inter- 
course was opened between the societies in both coun- 
tries. Mr. Wesley, being informed of the extreme un- 
easiness of the people's minds for want of the sacraments, 
and that thousands of their children were unbaptized, re- 
solved upon drawing up a plan of church government, and 
of establishing an ordination for his American societies. 
At the conference of 1784, it was determined to send Dr. 
Coke and two other preachers to America. The two 
preachers were ordained presbyters by Mr. Wesley, with 
the assistance of Dr. Coke, and the Rev. Mr. Creigh- 
ton ; and Dr. Coke himself was ordained a superintendent 
or bishop, and received letters of ordination for America 
under the hand and seal of Mr. Wesley. The step thus 
taken for the purpose of giving an efficient ministry to the 
trans-atlantic Methodist churches has given occasion to 
much discussio% By some even of Mr. Wesley's best 
friends it was viewed as an unwarrantable stretch of au- 
thority, calculated to entail innumerable evils on the Me- 
thodist body : and by others it was regarded as the long- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 3. WESLEY. 31 



looked-for renunciation of the authority of the church. 
It seems that Mr. Wesley submitted to this purely as an 
act of expediency, and did not adopt it as a matter of 
choice. He had been convinced, by the perusal of Lord 
King's book on the primitive church, that bishops and 
presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the 
same right to ordain : and viewing his people in America 
" as sheep without any shepherd," destitute of the ordi- 
nances of God and religion, he resolved to exercise the 
authority with which he believed himself to be scriptu- 
rally invested. " For many years," he observes, " I have 
been importuned, from time to time, to exercise this right 
by ordaining part of our travelling preachers. But I have 
still refused, not only for peace' sake, but because I was 
determined, as little as possible, to violate the established 
order of the national church to which I belonged." In 
reply to his brother Charles, he says, " I firmly believe 
that I am a scriptural etslgkouos, as much as any man in 
England, or in Europe ; for the uninterrupted succes- 
sion I know to be a fable which no man ever did or can 
prove. But this does, in no wise, interfere with my 
remaining in the Church of England ; from which I have 
no more desire to separate than I had fifty years ago." 

In the year 1787, Mr. Wesley visited the French 
islands. Methodism had been already introduced into 
them, and was rapidly spreading its influence. He 
preached at Alderney, Guernsey, and Jersey, to serious 
and deeply attentive congregations, and departed highly 
gratified with the result of his visit. In the following year 
Charles died, in the 79th year of his age. He had said, 
just before his dissolution, that his brother would not 
survive him above a year. Mr. Wesley paid little atten- 
tion to this ; but he seemed to think that, considering his 
years, and the symptoms of decay which he had marked 
in himself, such an event was highly probable. Deter- 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 

mined, however, to " die in the harness," he continued 
to travel and preach as usual. While on a journey through 
Ireland he was attacked with a disorder from which he 
was never afterward fully relieved. His strength now 
diminished so much, that he found it difficult to preach 
more than twice a day ; and for many weeks he abstained 
from his five o'clock morning sermons, because a slow and 
settled fever parched his mouth. Finding himself some- 
thing better, he resumed the practice, and hoped to hold 
on a little longer: but at the beginning of the year 1790, 
he writes, "I am now an old man, decayed from head to 
foot. My eyes are dim ; my right hand shakes much ; 
my mouth is hot and dry every morning ; I have a linger- 
ing fever almost every day ; my motion is weak and slow. 
However, blessed be God ! I do not slack my labours : I 
can preach and write still." He rose at his usual hour, 
four o'clock, and went through the many duties of the day, 
not, indeed, with the same apparent vigour, but without 
complaint, and with a degree of resolution that was as- 
tonishing. He would still, as he afterward remarks, " do 
a little for God before he dropped into the dust." In this 
manner he went on till the month of February, 1791, when 
he took cold after preaching at Lambeth. For some days 
he struggled against an increasing fever, and continued to 
preach, but daily became weaker and more lethargic ; 
and on the second of March he died in peace, being in 
the eighty-eighth year of his age, and the sixty-fifth of 
his ministry. He was buried in a vault in the City-Road 
Chapel, whither he was followed by the tears and affec- 
tionate regrets of hundreds, who regarded him as their 
father in the gospel. 

The limits assigned to this hasty sketch of the life 
of Wesley forbids any thing like a review of his cha- 
racter : we therefore conclude it with an observation of 
Mr. Nicholls, in his Literary Anecdotes, as highly honour- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 33 



able to both of the parties : — " This extraordinary man, 
though he was endowed v/ith eminent talents, was more 
distinguished by their use than even by their possession. 
Though his taste was classic, and his manners elegant, 
he sacrificed that society in which he was peculiarly cal- 
culated to shine ; gave up those preferments which his 
abilities might have obtained ; and devoted a long life in 
practising and enforcing common duties. Instead of being 
' an ornament to literature,' he was a blessing to his fel- 
low-creatures ; instead of being ' the genius of the age,' 
he was the servant of God." 

The following is the inscription on the tomb-stone : 
To the Memory of 
THE VENERABLE JOHN WESLEY, A. M. 
Late Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. 

This great Light arose, 
(By the singular providence of God,) 

To enlighten these nations, 
And to revive, enforce, and defend, 
The pure apostolical doctrine and practices of 
the Primitive Church : 
Which he continued to do by his writings and labours, 
For more than half a century, 
And to his inexpressible joy, 
Not only beheld their influence extending, 

And their efficacy witnessed, 
In the hearts and lives of many thousands, 
As well in the Western World, as in these 
kingdoms ; 

But also, far above all human power or expectation, 
lived to see provision made, by the singular 

Grace of God, 
For their continuance and establishment, 
to the joy of future generations ! 
2* 



34 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 



Reader, if thou art constrained to bless the instru- 
ment, give God the glory! 
After having languished a few days, He, at length, 
finished his course and his life together ; 
Gloriously triumphing over death, 
March 2, An. Dom. 1791, 

IN THE EIGHTY-EIGHTH YEAR OF HIS AGE. 

On the marble tablet in the chapel is the following : 

Sacred to the Memory 
Of the Rev. JOHN WESLEY, A. M. 
Some time Fellow 0/* Lincoln College, Oxford. 
A Man, in Learning and sincere Piety, 
scarcely inferior to any : 
In zeal, Ministerial labours, & extensive usefulness, 
Superior (perhaps) to all Men 
Since the days of St. Paul. 
Regardless of fatigue, personal danger, & disgrace, 
He went out into the highways and hedges, 
Calling sinners to repentance, 
And preaching the Gospel of peace. 
He was the Founder of the Methodist Societies ; 
The Patron and Friend of the Lay-preachers, 
By whose aid he extended the plan of itinerant 
preaching 

Through Great Britain and Ireland, 
The West Indies and America, 
With unexampled success. 

He was born July 17th, 1703, 
And died March 2nd, 1791, 
In sure and certain hope of eternal life, 
Through the atonement and mediation of a crucified 
Saviour. 

He was sixty-five years in the Ministry, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 35 

And fifty-two an Itinerant Preacher : 
He lived to see, in these kingdoms only, 
About three hundred Itinerant, 
And a thousand Local Preachers, 
Raised up from the midst of his own people ; 
And eighty thousand persons in the Societies under 
his care. 

His name will ever be held in grateful remembrance 
by all who rejoice in the universal spread 
of the Gospel of Christ. 

SOLI DEO GLORIA. 

Whatever diversity of sentiment may exist relative to 
the correctness of Mr. Wesley's views of Christian doc- 
trine or ecclesiastical discipline, it is now pretty generally 
acknowledged that by his abundant labours he has been 
the instrument of effecting a vast and incalculable aggre- 
gate of moral good, which it is probable would have been 
effected by no other means. At the period when he en- 
tered upon his public labours, the nation was in an awful 
state of defection from the doctrines of the reformation. 
Socinianism and atheism were making rapid strides, and 
their attendant consequences, immorality and profaneness, 
had assumed a fearful aspect. To check and destroy 
these destructive evils was the great and uniform object 
which Wesley proposed to himself ; and to accomplish 
which no labour was too great, and no suffering too severe. 
In the contemplation of this noble enterprise he relin- 
quished the acquisition of every earthly good, and entered 
upon a course of unremitting toil. " Leisure and I," said 
he, 44 have taken leave of each other. I purpose to be 
busy as long as I live, if my health is so long indulged to 
me and never was resolution more punctually observed. 
His uniform prayer was, " Lord, let me never live to be 
useless — but may I 



36 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 



" My body with my charge lay down, 
And cease at once to work and live." 

Of the result of these labours little need here be said. 
Of the tendency of his doctrines the reader will judge 
from the following sheets : but of their actual fruits a few 
words may be allowed. In estimating the moral effects 
of Methodism, it should not be forgotten that it. was ori- 
ginally designed for the poor. The labours of Mr. Wesley 
were primarily directed to that class of society, for whom 
it might truly be said •'• no man cared.*' The prisons were 
the first scenes of his labours ; and afterward, when the 
churches were shut against him. he. in the highways of the 
most depraved neighbourhoods called upon men i: to re- 
pent, and do works meet for repentance.'' And upon these 
persons the most beneficial effects were immediately pro- 
duced. In many cases of the most brutal depravity and 
habitual vice, the completest reformation was effected. To 
such cases, and they were by no means uncommon, the 
founder of Methodism appealed, and that successfully, in 
proof of its extraordinary character and holy tendency. 
i; I appeal,'* said he, " to every candid, unprejudiced per- 
son, whether we may not discern all those signs (under- 
standing the words in a spiritual sense) to which our 
Lord referred John's disciples : 1 The blind receive their 
sight.' Those who were blind from their birth, unable to 
see their own deplorable state, and much more to see God, 
and the remedy he has prepared for them in the Son of 
his love, now see themselves, yea, and ; the light of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' The eyes 
of their understanding beinsf now opened, they see all 
things clearly. c The deaf hear.' Those that were before 
utterly deaf to all the outward and inward calls of God, 
now hear not only his providential calls, but also the 
whispers of his grace. ' The lame walk.' Those who 
never before arose from the earth, or moved one step to- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. 37 

ward heaven, are now walking in all the ways of God ; 
yea, running the race that is set before them. < The 
lepers are cleansed.' The deadly leprosy of sin, which 
they brought with them into the world, and which no art 
of man could ever cure, is now clean departed from them. 
And surely never, in any age or nation since the apostles, 
have those words been so eminently fulfilled, c the poor 
have the gospel preached unto them, , as they are at this 
day. At this day the gospel leaven, faith working by 
love, inward and outward holiness, or, (to use the terms 
of St. Paul,) righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost, hath so spread in various parts of Europe, particu- 
larly in England, Scotland, Ireland, in the islands, in the 
north and south, from Georgia to New-England and New- 
foundland, that sinners have been truly converted to God, 
thoroughly changed both in heart and in life, not by tens, 
or by hundreds only, but by thousands, yea, by myriads. 
The fact cannot be denied : we can point out the persons, 
with their names and places of abode ; and yet the wise 
men of the world, the men of eminence, the men of learn- 
ing and renown, cannot imagine what we mean by talking 
of any extraordinary work of God." 

The case of the Kings wood colliers is well known. 
Out of the midst of a horde of the most barbarous sava- 
ges a Christian church was raised, " whose faith is spoken 
of throughout all the world." In its immediate effects, 
the powerful principle of religion which Mr. Wesley and 
his preachers diffused, has reclaimed many from a course 
of sin, has supported many in poverty, sickness, and 
affliction, and has imparted to many a triumphant joy in 
death. Nor have the effects of Methodism been confined 
to the lower classes of society : it has leavened all ranks, 
and imparted its influence to all existing establishments. 
" In estimating the effects of Methodism," says Mr. Sou- 
they, " the good which it has done indirectly must not be 



38 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. WESLEY. . 

overlooked. As the Reformation produced a visible reform 
in those parts of Christendom where the Romish Church 
maintained its supremacy, so, though in a less degree, the 
progress of Wesley's disciples has been beneficial to our 
Establishment, exciting in many of the parochial clergy the 
zeal which was wanting. To the impulse also which was 
given by Methodism, that missionary spirit may be ascribed 
which is now carrying the light of the gospel to the utter- 
most parts of the earth." 



WESLEYANA, 



CHAPTER I. • 
OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

SECTION I. 

Their Importance. 

I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an 
arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and 
returning to God : just hovering over the great gulf ; till, 
a few moments hence, I am no more seen ! I drop into 
an unchangeable eternity ! I want to know one thing, the 
way to heaven : how to land safe on that happy shore. 
God himself has condescended to teach the way ; for this 
very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down 
in a book ! O give me that book ! At any price, give me 
the book of God ! I have it : here is knowledge enough 
for me. Let me be homo unius libri, a man of one book. 
Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit 
down alone : only God is here. In hjs presence I open, 
I read his book, for this end, to find the way to heaven. 
Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read ? 
Does any thing appear dark or intricate ? I lift up my 
heart to the Father of lights — Lord, is it not thy word, 
" If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God ?" Thou 
" givest liberally, and upbraidest not." Thou hast said, 
" If any be willing to do thy will, he shall know." I am 
willing to do : let mc know thy will. I then search after 



40 



WESLEYANA — OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



and consider parallel passages of Scripture, " comparing 
spiritual things with spiritual." — Sermons, vol. i, Preface, 
page 19. 

SECTION II. 

Their Divine Inspiration. 

There are four grand and powerful arguments which 
strongly induce us to believe that the Bible must be from 
God, viz., miracles, prophecies, the goodness of the doc- 
trine, and the moral character of the penmen. All the 
miracles flow from divine power : all the prophecies from 
divine understanding ; the goodness of the doctrine from 
divine goodness ; and the moral character of the penmen 
from divine holiness. 

Thus Christianity is built upon four grand pillars, viz., 
the power, understanding, goodness, and holiness of God. 
Divine power is the source of all the miracles ; divine 
understanding, of all the prophecies ; divine goodness, 
of the goodness of the doctrine ; and divine holiness, of 
the moral character of the penmen. 

I beg leave to propose a short, clear, and strong argu- 
ment to prove the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. 

The Bible must be the invention either of good men or 
angels, bad men or devils, or of God. 

1. It could not be the invention of good men or angels ; 
for they neither could nor would make a book, and tell lies 
all the time they were writing it, saying, " Thus saith the 
Lord," when it was their own invention. 

2. It could not be the invention of bad men or devils ; 
for they would not make a book which commands all duty, 
forbids all sin, and condemns their souls to hell to all 
eternity. 

3. Therefore I draw this conclusion, that the Bible must 
be given by divine inspiration. — Wesley's Works, vol. vi, 
p. 554. 



WESLEYANA— • OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



41 



SECTION III. 
The Christian Rule. 

The Christian rule of right and wrong is the word of 
God, the writings of the Old and New Testament ; all 
that the prophets and " holy men of old" wrote " as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost ; all that scripture which 
was given by inspiration of God, and which is indeed pro- 
fitable for doctrine, or teaching the whole will of God ; for 
reproof of what is contrary thereto ; for correction of error, 
and for instruction, or training us up in righteousness. 
2 Tim. iii. 16. 

This is a lantern unto a Christian's feet, and a light in 
all his paths. This alone he receives as his rule of right 
or wrong, of whatever is really good or evil. He esteems 
nothing good but what is here enjoined, either directly or 
by plain consequence ; he accounts nothing evil but what 
is here forbidden, either in terms, or by undeniable infer- 
ence. Whatever the Scripture neither forbids nor enjoins, 
either directly or by plain consequence, he believes to be 
of an indifferent nature ; to be in itself neither good nor 
evil ; this being the whole and sole outward rule whereby 
his conscience is to be directed in all things. 

And if it be directed thereby, in fact, then hath he " the 
answer of a good conscience toward God." " A good 
conscience" is what is elsewhere termed by the apostle " a 
conscience void of offence." So, what he at one time 
expresses thus, " I have lived in all good conscience be- 
fore God until this day," Acts xxiii, 1, he denotes at ano- 
ther by that expression, " Herein do I exercise myself to 
have always a conscience void of offence toward God and 
toward man," chap, xxiv, 16. Now in order to this there 
is absolutely required, rlrst, a right understanding of the 
word of God, of his " holy, and acceptable, and perfect 



42 



WESLEYANA— OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



will," concerning us as it is revealed therein. For it is 
impossible we should walk by a rule if we do not know 
what it means. There is, secondly, required (which how 
few have attained !) a true knowledge of ourselves ; a 
knowledge both of our hearts and lives, of our inward tem- 
pers and outward conversation : seeing, if we know them 
not, it is not possible that we should compare them with 
our rule. There is required, thirdly, an agreement of our 
hearts and lives, of our tempers and conversation, of our 
thoughts, and words, and works, with that rule, with the 
written word of God. For, without this, if we have any 
conscience at all, it can be only an evil conscience. There 
is, fourthly, required an inward perception of this agree- 
ment with our rule : and this habitual perception, this in- 
ward consciousness itself, is properly a good conscience ; 
or, in the other phrase of the apostle, " a conscience void 
of offence toward God and toward man." — Sermons, vol. 
i, pp. 102, 103. 

Standing revelation is the best means of rational con- 
viction ; far preferable to any of those extraordinary means 
which some imagine would be more effectual. It is there- 
fore our wisdom to avail ourselves of this ; to make full 
use of it ; so that it may be a lantern to our feet, and a 
light in all our paths. Let us take care that our whole 
heart and life be conformable thereto ; that it be the con- 
stant rule of all our tempers, all our words, and all our 
actions. So shall we preserve in all things the testimony 
of a good conscience toward God : and when our course 
is finished, we too shall be " carried by angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 423. 



WESLEYANA— OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



43 



SECTION IV. 

Understood hy the help of Reason. 

The foundation of true religion stands upon the oracles 
of God. It is built upon the prophets and apostles, Jesus 
Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. Now of what 
excellent use is reason, if we would either understand 
ourselves, or explain to others, those living oracles. And 
how is it possible, without it, to understand the essential 
truths contained therein 1 A beautiful summary of which 
we have in that which is called the Apostles' Creed. Is it 
not reason, (assisted by the Holy Ghost,) which enables us 
to understand what the Holy Scriptures declare concerning 
the being and attributes of God ; concerning his eternity 
and immensity ; his power, wisdom, and holiness ? It is 
by reason that God enables us, in some measure, to com- 
prehend his method of dealing with the children of men ; 
the nature of his various dispensations, of the old and new 
covenant, of the law and the gospel. It is by this we un- 
derstand (his Spirit opening and enlightening the eyes of 
our understanding) what that repentance is, not to be re- 
pented of ; what is that faith whereby we are saved ; what 
is the nature and the condition of justification ; what are 
the immediate, and what the subsequent fruits of it. By 
reason we learn what is that new birth, without which we 
cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven ; and what that 
holiness is, without which no man shall see the Lord. By 
the due use of reason we come to know what are the tem- 
pers implied in inward holiness, and what it is to be out- 
wardly holy, holy in all manner of conversation : in other 
words, what is the mind that was in Christ ; and what it 
is to walk as Christ walked. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 128, 129. 



44 



WESLEYANA — OF RELIGION. 



CHAPTER II. 

OF RELIGION. 
SECTION I. 
The Christian System described. 

What is real, genuine Christianity ? whether we speak 
of it as a principle in the soul, or as a scheme or system 
of doctrine ? 

Christianity, taken in the latter sense, is that system 
of doctrine which describes the character above recited, 
[a perfect Christian,] which promises it shall be mine, 
(provided I will not rest till I attain,) and which tells me 
how I may attain it. , * 

First, It describes this character in all its parts, and that 
in the most lively and affecting manner. The main lines 
of this picture are beautifully drawn in many passages of 
the Old Testament. These are filled up in the New, re- 
touched and finished with all the art of God. The same 
we have in miniature more than once ; particularly in the 
thirteenth chapter of the former epistle to the Corinthians, 
and in that discourse which St. Matthew records as deli- 
vered by our Lord at his entrance upon his public ministry. 

Secondly, Christianity promises this character shall be 
mine, if I will not rest till I attain it. This is promised 
in the Old Testament and the New. Indeed the New is, 
in effect, all promise ; seeing every description of the ser- 
vants of God mentioned therein has the nature of a com- 
mand, in consequence of those general injunctions, "Be 
ye followers of me as I am of Christ," 1 Cor. xi, 1. " Be 
ye followers of them who through faith and patience in- 
herit the promises," Heb. vi, 12. And every command 
has the force of a promise in virtue of those general 
promises, " A new heart will I give you, and I will put 



WESLEYANA OF RELIGION. 



45 



my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my sta- 
tutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them," 
Ezek. xxxvi, 26, 27. " This is the covenant that I will 
make after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws 
into their minds, and write them in their hearts/' Heb. viii, 
10. Accordingly, when it is said, " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy mind," Matt, xxii, 37, it is not only a di- 
rection what I shall do, but a promise of what God will 
do in me ; exactly equivalent with what is written else- 
where, " The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, 
and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul," Deut. xxx, 6. 

This being observed, it will readily appear to every 
serious person who reads the New Testament with that 
care which the importance of the subject demands, that 
every particular branch of the preceding character is man- 
ifestly promised therein ; either explicitly, under the form 
of a promise ; or virtually, under that of description or 
command. 

Christianity tells me, in the third place, how I may attain 
the promise, namely, by faith. But what is faith 1 Not 
an opinion, no more than it is a form of words ; not any 
number of opinions put together, be they ever so true. A 
string of opinions is no more Christian faith, than a string 
of beads is Christian holiness. 

It is not an assent to any opinion, or any number of 
opinions. A man may assent to three, or three and twenty 
creeds : he may assent to all the Old and New Testament? 
(at least so far as he understands them,) and yet have no 
Christian faith at all. 

The faith by which the promise is attained is repre- 
sented by Christianity as a power wrought by the Almighty 
in an immortal spirit, inhabiting a house of clay, to see 
through that veil into the world of spirits, into things in- 



46 



WESLEY AN A OF RELIGION. 



visible and eternal: a power to discern those things which, 
with eyes of flesh and blood, no man hath seen or can see ; 
either by reason of their nature, which (though they sur- 
round us on every side) is not perceivable by these gross 
senses ; or by reason of their distance, as being yet afar 
off in the bosom of eternity. 

This is Christian faith in the general notion of it. In 
its more particular notion, it is a divine evidence or con- 
viction wrought in the heart, that God is reconciled to me 
through his Son : inseparably joined with a confidence in 
him as a gracious, reconciled Father, as for all things, so 
especially for all those good things which are invisible and 
eternal. 

To believe (in the Christian sense) is, then, to walk in 
the light of eternity : and to have a clear sight of, and 
confidence in the Most High, reconciled to me through the 
Son of his love. 

Now how highly desirable is such a faith, were it only 
on its own account! For how little does the wisest of 
men know of any thing more than he can see with his 
eyes ! What clouds and darkness cover the whole scene 
of things invisible and eternal ! What does he know even 
of himself as to this invisible part ? What of his future 
manner of existence \ How melancholy an account doe's 
the prying, learned philosopher, (perhaps the wisest and 
best of all heathens,) the great, the venerable Marcus An- 
toninus give of these things 1 What was the result of all 
his serious researches ? Of his high and deep contem- 
plations ? " Either dissipation (of the soul as well as the 
body, into the common, unthinking mass,) or reabsorption 
into the universal fire, the unintelligent source of all things: 
or some unknown manner of conscious existence after the 
body sinks to rise no more." One of these three he sup- 
posed must succeed death, but which, he had no light to 
determine. Poor Antoninus ! With all his wealth, his 



WESLEYANA' — OF RELIGION. 47 

honour, his power! With all his wisdom and philo- 
sophy ! 

" What points of knowledge did he gain? 
That life is sacred all— and vain! 
Sacred how high ! And vain how low ! 
He could not tell — but died to know." 

He died to know ! And so must you, unless you are 
now a partaker of Christian faith. O consider this ! Nay, 
and consider how little you know of the immensity of the 
things that are beyond sense and time, but how uncertainly 
do you know even that little ! How faintly glimmering a 
light is that you have ! Can you properly be said to know 
any of these things ? Is that knowledge any more than 
bare conjecture 1 And the reason is plain. You have no 
senses suitable to invisible or eternal objects. What desi- 
derata then, especially to the rational, the reflecting part 
of mankind, are these ? A more extensive knowledge 
of things invisible and eternal : a greater certainty in what- 
ever knowledge of them we have ; and, in order to both, 
faculties capable of discerning things invisible. 

Is it not so? Let impartial reason speak. Does not 
every thinking man want a window, not so much in his 
neighbour's, as in his own breast ? He wants an opening 
there, of whatever kind, that might let in light from eter- 
nity. He is pained to be thus feeling after God so darkly, 
so uncertainly ; to know so little of God, and indeed so 
little of any beside material objects. He is concerned that 
he must see that little, not directly, but in the dim, sullied 
glass of sense ; and consequently so imperfectly and ob- 
scurely that it is all a mere enigma still. 

Now these very desiderata faith supplies. It gives a 
more extensive knowledge of things invisible, showing 
what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither could it 
before enter into our heart to conceive. And all these it 9 
shows in the clearest light, with the fullest certainty and 



43 



WE SL E ¥ AN A — OF RELIGION. 



evidence. For ir does not leave us to receive our notice 
of them by mere reflection from the dull glass of sense ; 
but resolves a thousand enigmas of the highest concern, 
by giving faculties suited to things invisible. O, who 
would not wish for such a faith, were it only on these ac- 
counts ! How much more, if by this I may receive the 
promise. I may attain all that holiness and happiness. 

So Christianity tells me ; and so I rind it, may every real 
Christian say. I now am assured that these things are so; 
I experience them In my own breast. "What Christianity 
(considered as a doctrine) promised is accomplished in my 
soul. And Christianity, considered as an inward principle, 
is the completion of all those promises. It is holiness and 
happiness, the image of God impressed on a created spi- 
rit ; a fountain of peace and love springing up into ever- 
lasting life. — Letter to the Rev. Dr. Middleton, vol. v, 
pp. 756-758. 

SECTION EL 
Nature of true Religion. 

The religion of Jesus Christ is Qspa-eia Vrvxqc, God's 
method of healing a soul which is thus diseased. Hereby 
the great Physician of souls applies medicines to heal 
this sickness ; to restore human nature, totally corrupted 
in all its faculties. God heals all our atheism by the 
knowledge of himself, and of Jesus Christ whom he hath 
sent : by giving us faith, a divine evidence and conviction 
of God, and of the things of God ; in particular, of this 
important truth, ''' Christ loved me, and gave himself for 
me." By repentance and lowliness of heart, the deadly 
disease of pride is healed; that of self-will by resignation, 
a meek and thankful submission to the will of God ; and 
for the love of the world in all its branches, the love of 



WESLEYANA—OF RELIGION, 



49 



God is the sovereign remedy. Now this is properly reli- 
gion, " faith [thus] working by love f working the genu- 
ine meek humility, entire deadness to the world, with a 
loving, thankful acquiescence in, and conformity to, the 
whole will and word of God.— Sermons, vol. i, p. 398. 

True religion is right tempers toward God and man. It 
is, in two words, gratitude and benevolence ; gratitude to 
our Creator and supreme benefactor, and benevolence to 
our fellow-creatures. In other words, it is the loving God 
with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves. 

It is in consequence of our knowing God loves us, that 
we love him, and love our neighbour as ourselves. Gra- 
titude towards our Creator cannot but produce benevolence 
to our fellow-creatures. The love of Christ constrains us 
not only to be harmless, to do no ill to our neighbour, but 
to be useful, to be " zealous of good works;" " as we have 
time, to do good unto all men;" and to be patterns to all, 
of true genuine morality ; of justice, mercy, and truth. 
This is religion, and this is happiness ; the happiness for 
which we were made. This begins when we begin to 
know God, by the teaching of his own Spirit. As soon 
as the Father of spirits reveals his Son in our hearts, and 
the Son reveals his Father, the love of God is shed abroad 
in our hearts ; then, and not till then, we are happy. We 
are happy, first, In the consciousness of his favour, which 
indeed is better than life itself ; next, In the constant 
communion with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ; 
then, In all the heavenly tempers which he hath wrought 
in us by his Spirit ; again, In the testimony of his Spirit, 
that all our works please him ; and lastly, In the testimony 
of our own spirits, that " in simplicity and godly sincerity 
we have had our conversation in the world." Standing 
fast in this liberty from sin and sorrow, wherewith Christ 
hath made them free, real Christians " rejoice evermore, 
pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks." 

3 



50 WESLEYANA— OF RELIGION. 

And their happiness still increases as they " grow up into 
the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." 

There can be no doubt but from this love to God and 
man, a suitable conversation will follow. His " commu- 
nication," that is, discourse, will " be always in grace, 
seasoned with salt, and meet to minister grace to the 
hearers." He will always " open his mouth with wis- 
dom, and there will be on his tongue the law of kindness.' , 
Hence his affectionate words will " distil as the dew, and 
as the rain upon the tender herb." And men will know 
" it is not he only that speaks, but the Spirit of the Father 
that speaketh in him." His actions will spring from the 
same source with his words, even from the abundance of 
a loving heart. And while all these aim at the glory of 
God, and tend to this one point, whatever he does he may 
.truly say,— 

" End of ray every action thou, 
In all things thee I see : 
Accept my hallow'd labour now, 
I do it as to thee." 

Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 432, 434. 

Here then we see, in the clearest, strongest light, what 
is real religion: A restoration of man, by Him that bruises 
the serpent's head, to all that the old serpent deprived 
him of ; a restoration, not only to the favour, but likewise 
to the image of God, implying not barely deliverance from 
sin, but the being filled with the fulness of God. It is 
plain, if we attend to the preceding considerations, that 
nothing short of this is Christian religion. Every thing 
else, whether negative or external, is utterly wide of the 
mark. But what a paradox is this ! How little is it un- 
derstood in the Christian world ; yea, in this enlightened 
age, wherein it is taken for granted the world is wiser 
than ever it was from the beginning ! Among all our dis- 
coveries, who has discovered this ? How few, either among 



WESLEYANA OF RELIGION. 



51 



the learned or unlearned! And yet, if we believe the 
Bible, who can deny it ? Who can doubt of it? It runs 
through the Bible from the beginning to the end, in one 
connected chain ; and the agreement of every part of it 
with every other, is, properly, the analogy of faith. Be- 
ware of taking any thing else, or any thing less than this, 
for religion ! Not any thing else. Do not imagine an 
outward form, a round of duties, both in public and pri- 
vate, is religion ! Do not suppose that honesty, justice, 
and whatever is called morality, (though excellent in its 
place,) is religion ! And least of all dream that orthodoxy, 
right opinion, (vulgarly called faith,) is religion. Of all 
religious dreams, this is the vainest ; which takes hay and 
stubble for gold tried in the fire. 

O do not take any thing less than this for the religion 
of Jesus Christ ! Do not take a part, of it for the whole. 
What God hath joined together put not asunder. Take 
no less for his religion than the " faith that worketh by 
love all inward and outward holiness. Be not content 
with any religion which does not imply the destruction 
of all the works of the devil ; that is, of all sin. We know 
weakness of understanding, and a thousand infirmities, 
will remain while this corruptible body remains ; but sin 
need not remain : this is that work of the devil, eminently 
so called, which the Son of God was manifested to de- 
stroy in this present life. He is able, he is willing, to de- 
stroy it now in all that believe in him. Only be not strait- 
ened in your own bowels. Do not distrust his power, or 
his love. Put his promise to the proof. He hath spoken, 
and is he not ready likewise to perform ? Only " come 
boldly to the throne of grace," trusting in his mercy, and 
you shall find " He saveth to the uttermost all those that 
come to God through him." — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 73, 74. 

This alone is religion, truly so called : this alone is, in 
the sight of God, of great price. The apostle sums it all 



• 



52 



WESLEYANA — OF RELIGION. 



up in three particulars, " righteousness, and peace, and 
joy in the Holy Ghost." And, first, righteousness. We 
cannot be at a loss concerning this, if we remember the 
words of our Lord, describing the two grand branches 
thereof, on which " hang all the law and the prophets :* 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy strength. This is the first and great commandment," 
Mark xii, 30, the first and great branch of Christian right- 
eousness. Thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord thy 
God ; thou shalt seek and find all happiness in him. He 
shall be " thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward," in 
time and in eternity^ All thy bones shall say, " Whom 
have I in heaven but thee ? And there is none upon earth 
that I desire beside thee !" Thou shalt hear, and fulfil His 
word who saith, " My son, give me thy heart." And hav- 
ing given him thy heart, thy inmost soul, to reign there 
without a rival, thou mayest well cry out, in the fulness 
of thy heart " I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The 
Lord is my strong rock, and my defence : my saviour, my 
God, and my might, in whom I will trust ; my buckler, 
the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge." 

And the second commandment is like unto this : the 
second great branch of Christian righteousness is closely 
and inseparably connected therewith ; even " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbour as thyself." Thou shalt love, — thou 
shalt embrace with the most tender good will, the most 
earnest and cordial affection, the most inflamed desires 
of preventing or removing all evil, and of procuring for 
him every possible good, — thy neighbour; that is, not 
only thy friend, thy kinsman, or thy acquaintance : not 
only the virtuous, the friendly, him that loves thee, that 
prevents or returns thy kindness ; but every child of man, 
every human creature, every soul which God hath made ; 
not excepting him whom thou never hast seen in the 



WESLEYANA — OF RELIGION. 



53 



flesh, whom thou knowest not, either by face or name ; 
not excepting him whom thou knowest to be evil and un- 
thankful, him that still despitefully uses and persecutes 
thee : him thou shalt love as thyself; with the same in- 
variable thirst after his happiness in every kind ; the same 
unwearied care to screen him from whatever might grieve 
or hurt either his soul or body. 

Now is not this love " the fulfilling of the law ?" the 
sum of all Christian righteousness — of all inward right- 
eousness ; for it necessarily implies " bowels of mercy, 
humbleness of mind," (seeing " love is not puffed up,") 
" gentleness, meekness, long-suffering," (for love " is not 
provoked ;" but believeth, hopeth, endureth all things :") 
and of all outward righteousness ; for " love worketh no 
ill to his neighbour," either by word or deed. It cannot 
willingly either hurt or grieve anyone. And it is zealous 
of good works. Every lover of mankind, as he hath op- 
portunity, " doeth good unto all men," being (without par- 
tiality and without hypocrisy) " full of mercy and good 
fruits." 

But true religion, or a heart right toward God and man, 
implies happiness, as well as holiness : for it is not only 
righteousness, but also " peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
What peace ? The peace of God, which God only can 
give, and the world cannot take away ; the peace which 
" passeth all understanding," all (barely) rational concep- 
tion; being a supernatural sensation, a divine taste of 
" the powers of the world to come ;" such as the natural 
man knoweth not, how wise soever in the things of this 
world, nor, indeed, can he know it in its present state, 
" because it is spiritually discerned." It is a peace that 
banishes all doubt, all painful uncertainty ; the Spirit of 
God bearing witness with the spirit of a Christian, that he 
is a child of God. And it banishes fear, all such fear as 
hath torment; the fear of the wrath of God; the fear of 



54 



WESLEY AN A — OF RELIGION, 



hell ; the fear of the devil ; and. in particular, the fear of 
death : he that hath the peace of God desirinof, if it were 
the will of God. ;i to depart and to be with Christ.''* 

"With this peace of God. wherever it is fixed in the soul, 
there is also i: joy in the Holy Ghost joy wrought in the 
heart by the Holy Ghost, by the ever blessed Spirit of 
God. He it is that worketh in us that calm, humble re- 
joicing in God, through Christ Jesus, ;; by whom we have 
now received the atonement," Kara/JMyyv, the reconcilia- 
tion with God ; and that enables us boldly to confirm the 
truth of the royal psalmist's declaration, ;i Blessed is the 
man," (or rather happy.) -rp^X, 11 whose unrighteous- 
ness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered/* He it is that 
inspires the Christian soul with that even, solid joy which 
arises from the testimony of the Spirit that he is a child 
of God ; and that gives him to u rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able in hope of the glory of God ;" hope both of the glo- 
rious image of God, which is, in part, and shall be fully 
' ; revealed in him," and of that crown of glory which 
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him. — Sermons, 
vol. i, pp. 62, 63. 

By religion I mean the love of God and man, filling the 
heart and governing the life. The sure effect of this is, 
the uniform practice of justice, mercy, and truth. This is 
the very essence of it ; the height and depth of religion, 
detached from this or that opinion, and from all particular 
modes of worship. — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 360. 

"What is relisfion then ? It is easy to answer, if we 
consult the oracles of God. According to these, it lies in 
one single point : it is neither more nor less than love : 
it is love which 14 is the fulfilling of the law, the end of 
the commandment.*' Religion is the love of God and our 
neighbour ; that is, every man under heaven. This love 
ruling the whole life, animating all our tempers and pas- 



WESLEYANA OF RELIGION. 



55 



sions, directing all our thoughts 3 words, and actions, is 
" pure religion and undefiled." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 228. 

SECTION pi. 
Its Fruits. 

In a Christian believer love sits upon the throne which 
is erected in the inmost soul : namely, love of God and 
man, which fills the whole heart, and reigns without a 
rival. In a circle near the throne are all holy tempers ; 
long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, fidelity, temperance : 
and if there be any other, they are comprised in " the 
mind which was in Christ Jesus." In an exterior circle 
are all the works of mercy, whether to the souls or bodies 
of men. By these we exercise all holy tempers ; by these 
we continually improve them; so that all these are real 
means of grace, although this is not commonly adverted 
to. Next to these are those that are usually termed works 
of piety : reading and hearing the word, public, family, 
and private prayer, receiving the Lord's supper, fasting, 
or abstinence. Lastly, that his followers may the more 
effectually provoke one another to love, holy tempers, and 
good works, our blessed Lord has united them together in 
one body, the church, dispersed all over the earth ; a little 
emblem of which, of the church universal, we have in 
every particular Christian congregation. 

This is that religion which our Lord has established 
upon earth ever since the descent of the Holy Ghost on 
the day of Pentecost. This is the entire, connected sys- 
tem of Christianity ; and thus the several parts of it rise 
one above another, from that lowest point, the assembling 
ourselves together, to the highest, love enthroned in the 
heart. And hence it is easy to learn the comparative va- 
lue of every branch of religion. — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 289. 



56 



WESLEYANA OF RELIGION. 



SECTION IV. 

Its Design. 

The great end of religion is to renew our hearts in the 
image of God, to repair that total loss of righteousness 
and true holiness which we sustained by the sin of our 
first parents. — Sermons, vol. i, p. 399. 

SECTION V. 
Its Happiness. 

As there is but one God in heaven above and in the 
earth beneath, so there is only one happiness for created 
spirits, either in heaven or earth. This one God made our 
heart for himself, and it cannot rest till it resteth in him. 
It is true that while we are in the vigour of youth and 
health ; while our blood dances in our veins ; while the 
world smiles upon us, and we have all the conveniences, 
yea, and superfluities of life, we frequently have pleasing 
dreams, and enjoy a kind of happiness. But it cannot 
continue ; it flies away like a shadow : and even while it 
does, it is not solid or substantial : it does not satisfy the 
soul. We still pant after something else, something which 
we have not. Give a man every thing that this world can 
give, still, as Horace observed near two thousand years 
ago, 

Curtse nescio quid semper abest rei. 

Still, 

44 Amidst our plenty something still, 
To me, to thee, to him is wanting." 

That something is neither more nor less than the know- 
ledge and love of God ; without which no spirit can be 
happy either in heaven or earth. 

This happy knowledge of the true God is only another 
name for religion, I mean Christian religion ; which indeed 



WESLEVANA— — OF RELIGION. 



57 



is the only one that deserves the name. Religion, as to 
the nature or essence of it, does not lie in this or that set 
of notions, vulgarly called faith ; nor in a round of duties, 
however carefully reformed from error and superstition. It 
does not consist in any number of outward actions. No : 
it properly and directly consists in the knowledge and love 
of God, as manifested in the Son of his love, through the 
eternal Spirit. And this naturally leads to every heavenly 
temper, and to every good word and work. 

None but a Christian is happy : none but a real inward 
Christian. A glutton, a drunkard, a gamester, may be 
merry ; but he cannot be happy. The beau, the belle, 
may eat and drink, and rise up to play ; but still they feel 
they are not happy. Men or women may adorn their own 
dear persons with all the colours of the rainbow. They 
may dance, and sing, and hurry to and fro, and flutter 
hither and thither. Xhey m^f^fo!lu^ and down in their 
splendid carriages, and talk insipidly to each other. They 
may hasten from one diversion to another : but happiness 
is not there. They are still " walking in a vain shadow, 
and disquieting themselves in vain." One of their own 
poets has truly pronounced concerning the whole life of 
these sons of pleasure, — 

" 'Tis a dull farce, an empty show : 
Powder, and pocket-glass, and beau." 

I cannot but observe of that fine writer, [Matthew Prior] 
that he came near the mark ; and yet he fell short of it. 
In his Solomon (one of the noblest poems in the English 
tongue) he clearly shows where happiness is not ; that it 
is not to be found in natural knowledge, in power, or in the 
pleasures of sense or imagination. But he does not show 
where it is to be found. He could not ; for he did not 
know it himself. Yet he came near it when he said, 
" Restore, great Father, thy instructed son ; 
And in my act may thy great will be done !" 
3* 



58 



WES LEY AN A — OF GOD. 



Every Christian is happy ; and he who is not happy is 
not a Christian. If, as was observed above, religion is 
happiness, every one that has it must be happy. This ap- 
pears from the very nature of the thing : for if religion 
and happiness are in fact the same, it is impossible that 
any man can possess the former without possessing the 
latter also. He cannot have religion without having hap- 
piness, seeing they are utterly inseparable. 

And it is equally certain, on the other hand, that he who 
is not happy is not a Christian : seeing, if he were a real 
Christian, he could not but be happy. But I allow an ex- 
ception here in favour of those who are under violent 
temptation ; yea, and of those who are under deep ner- 
vous disorders, which are indeed a species of insanity. 
The clouds and darkness which then overwhelm the soul 
suspend its happiness ; especially if Satan is permitted to 
second those disorders by pouring in his fiery darts. But, 
excepting these cases, the observation will hold, and it 
should be well attended to, — Whoever is not happy, yea, 
happy in God, is not a Christian. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 
181-183. 



CHAPTER III. 

OF GOD. 

SECTION I. 

Distinction of Persons in the Godhead. 

" There are three that bear record in heaven ; and 
these three are one." I believe this fact, (if I may use the 
expression,) that God is Three and One. But the manner 
how, I do not comprehend ; and I do not believe it. Now 
in this, in the manner, lies the mystery : and so it may : 
I have no concern with it : it is no object of my faith : I 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 



59 



believe just so much as God has revealed, and no more. 
But this, the manner \ he has not revealed ; therefore I be- 
lieve nothing about it. But would it not be absurd in me 
to deny the fact, because I do not understand the manner? 
That is, to reject what God has revealed, because I do not 
comprehend what he has not revealed ? 

This is a point much to be observed. There are many 
things " which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive." Part 
of these God hath " revealed to us by his Spirit — " re- 
vealed that is, unveiled, uncovered : that part he requires 
us to believe. Part of them he has not revealed : that we 
need not, and, indeed, cannot believe : it is far above, out 
of our sight. 

Now where is the wisdom of rejecting what is revealed, 
because we do not understand what is not revealed ] Of 
denying the fact, which God has unveiled, because we 
cannot see the manner, which is veiled still ? 

Especially when we consider that what God has been 
pleased to reveal upon this head is far from being a point 
of indifference ; is a truth of the last importance. It en- 
ters into the very heart of Christianity : it lies at the root 
of all vital religion. 

Unless these Three are One, how can " all men honour 
the Son even as they honour the Father ?" " I know not 
what to do," says Socinus in a letter to a friend, " with my 
untoward followers : they will not worship Jesus Christ. 
I tell them, it is written, ' Let all the angels of God wor- 
ship him.' They answer, However that be, if he is not 
God, we dare not worship him. For ' it is written, Thou 
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou 
serve.' " 

But the thing which I here particularly mean, is this : 
the knowledge of the Three-One God is interwoven with 
all true Christian faith ; with all vital religion. 



60 WESLEYAXA— OF GOD. 

I do not say that every real Christian can say, with the 
Marquis de Renty, " I bear about with me continually an 
experimental verity, and a plenitude of the presence of the 
ever blessed Trinity." I apprehend this is not the expe- 
rience of " babes," but rather of " fathers in Christ." 

But I know not how any one can be a Christian be- 
liever till he " hath [as St. John speaks] the witness in 
himself f till " the Spirit of God witnesses with his spirit 
that he is a child of God ;" that is, in effect, till God the 
Holy Ghost witnesses that God the Father has accepted 
him through the merits of God the Son ; and, having this 
witness, he honours the Son, and the blessed Spirit, " even 
as he honours the Father." 

Not that every Christian believer adverts to this ; per- 
haps, at first, not one in twenty : but if you ask any of them 
a few questions, you will easily find it implied in what he 
believes. 

Therefore I do not see how it is possible for any to have 
vital religion who denies that these Three are One. And 
all my hope for them is, not that they will be saved dur- 
ing their unbelief, (unless on the footing of honest hea- 
thens, upon the plea of invincible ignorance,) but that 
God, before they go hence, will " bring them to the know- 
ledge of the truth."— Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 23, 24. 

SECTION II. 
His Eternity. 

Who can search out this God to perfection? None 
of the creatures that he has made. Only some of his at- 
tributes he has been pleased to reveal to us in his word. 
Hence we learn, that God is an eternal Being. " His 
goings forth are from everlasting," and will continue to 
everlasting. As he ever was, so he ever will be ; as there 
was no beginning of his existence, so there will be no end. 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 



61 



This is universally allowed to be contained in his very- 
name, Jehovah ; which the Apostle John accordingly ren- 
ders, "He that was, and that is, and that is to come." 
Perhaps it would be as proper to say, " He is from ever- 
lasting to everlasting." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 429. 

SECTION III. 
His Knowledge and Wisdom. 

Some apprehend the wisdom and knowledge of God to 
mean one and the same thing. Others believe that the 
wisdom of God more directly refers to his appointing the 
ends of all things, and his knowledge to the means which 
he hath prepared and made conducive to those ends. The 
former seems to be the most natural explication ; as the 
wisdom of God, in its most extensive meaning, must in- 
clude the one as well as the other ; the means as well as 
the ends. 

Now the wisdom, as well as the power of God, is abun- 
dantly manifested in his creation ; in the formation and 
arrangement of all his works, in heaven above and in the 
earth beneath ; and in adapting them all to the several 
ends for which they were designed : insomuch that each 
of them, apart from the rest, is good ; but all together very 
good: all conspiring together, in one connected system, 
to the glory of God in the happiness of his intelligent 
creatures. 

As this wisdom appears even to short-sighted men (and 
much more to spirits of a higher order) in the creation 
and disposition of the whole universe, and every part of 
it ; so it equally appears in their preservation, in his " up- 
holding all things by the word of his power." And it no 
less eminently appears in the permanent government of 
all that he has created. How admirably does his wisdom 
direct the motions of the heavenly bodies ; of all the stars 



62 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 



in the firmament, whether those that are fixed, or those 
that wander, though never out of their several orbits ; of 
the sun in the midst of heaven ; of those amazing bodies, 
the comets, that shoot in every direction through the im- 
measurable fields of ether ! How does he superintend all 
the parts of this lower world, this " speck of creation," 
the earth ! So that all things are still, as they were at the 
beginning, " beautiful in their seasons ;" and summer and 
winter, seed-time and harvest, regularly follow each other. 
Yea, all things serve their Creator : " fire and hail, snow 
and vapour, wind and storm, are fulfilling his word :" so 
that we may well say, " O Lord our Governor, how excel- 
lent is thy name in all the earth !" 

Equally conspicuous is the wisdom of God in the go- 
vernment of nations, of states, and kingdoms ; yea rather, 
more conspicuous, if infinite can be allowed to admit of 
any degrees. For the whole inanimate creation, being to- 
tally passive and inert, can make no opposition to his will. 
Therefore, in the natural world, all things roll on in an even 
uninterrupted course. But it is far otherwise in the moral 
world. Here evil men and evil spirits continually oppose 
the divine will, and create numberless irregularities. Here 
therefore is full scope for the exercise of all the riches 
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, in counter- 
acting all the wickedness and folly of men, and all the 
subtlety of Satan, to carry on his own glorious design, the 
salvation of lost mankind. Indeed, were He to do this by 
an absolute decree, and by his own irresistible power, it 
would imply no wisdom at all. But his wisdom is shown 
by saving man in such a manner as not to destroy his na- 
ture, nor to take away the liberty which he has given him. 

But the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God are most eminently displayed in his church : in 
planting it like a grain of mustard-seed, the least of all 
seeds ; in preserving and continually increasing it till it 



WESLEY AN A OF GOD. 



63 



grew into a great tree, notwithstanding the uninterrupted 
opposition of all the powers of darkness. This the apos- 
tle justly terms the manifold wisdom (&oXvmoitcihog voQia) 
of God. It is an uncommonly expressive word, intimating 
that this wisdom, in the manner of its operation, is diver- 
sified a thousand ways, and exerts itself with infinite va- 
rieties. These things the highest " angels desire to look 
into," but can never fully comprehend. It seems to be 
with regard to these chiefly that the apostle utters that 
strong exclamation, " How unsearchable are his judg- 
ments !" His counsels, designs, impossible to be fa- 
thomed ; " and his ways" of accomplishing them " past 
finding out !" Impossible to be traced. According to the 
psalmist, " His paths are in the deep waters, and his foot- 
steps are not known." — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 108, 109. 

The almighty, all-wise God sees and knows, from ever- 
lasting to everlasting, all that is, that was, and that is to 
come, through one eternal now. With him nothing is 
either past or future, but all things equally present. He 
has therefore, if we speak according to the truth of things, 
no foreknowledge, no afterknowledge. This would be 
ill consistent with the apostle's words, " With him is no 
variableness nor shadow of turning ;" and with the account 
he gives of himself by the prophet, " I the Lord change 
not." Yet when he speaks to us, knowing whereof we are 
made, knowing the scantiness of our understanding, he 
lets himself down to our capacity, and speaks of himself 
after the manner of men. Thus, in condescension to our 
weakness, he speaks of his own purpose, counsel, plan, 
foreknowledge. Not that God has any need of counsel, 
of purpose, or of planning his work beforehand. Far be 
it from us to impute these to the Most High ; to measure 
him by ourselves. It is merely in compassion to us that 
he speaks thus of himself as foreknowing the things in 
heaven or earth, and as predestinating or foreordaining 



64 



WES LEY AX A — OF GOD. 



them. But can we possibly imagine that these expres- 
sions are to be taken literally ? To one who was so gross 
in his conceptions might he not say, " Thinkest thou I 
am such a one as thyself?" Not so: as the heavens 
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than thy 
ways. I know, decree, work, in such a manner as it is 
not possible for thee to conceive : but to give thee some 
faint, glimmering knowledge of my ways, I use the lan- 
guage of men, and suit myself to thy apprehensions, in 
this thy infant state of existence." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 41. 

SECTION IV, 

His Omnipresence* 

This subject is too vast to be comprehended by the 
narrow limits of the human understanding. "We can only say, 
the great God, the eternal, the almighty Spirit, is as un- 
bounded in his presence as in his duration and power. In 
condescension, indeed, to our weak understanding, he is 
said to dwell in heaven : but, strictly speaking, the heaven 
of heavens cannot contain him ; but he is in every part 
of his dominion. The universal God dwelleth in univer- 
sal space : so that we may say, 

" Hail, Father ! whose creating call 
Unnumber'd worlds attend ; 
Jehovah, comprehending all, 
Whom none can comprehend." 

If we may dare attempt the illustrating this a little fur- 
ther : what is the space occupied by a grain of sand, com- 
pared to that space which is occupied by the starry 
heaven ? It is as a cipher ; it is nothing ; it vanishes away 
in the comparison. What is it then to the whole expanse 
of space, to which the whole creation is infinitely less than 
a grain of sand ? And yet this space, to which the 
whole creation bears no proportion at all, is infinitely less 



WESLEYANA— OF GOD. 



65 



in comparison of the great God, than a grain of sand, yea, 
a millionth part of it, is to that whole space. 

This seems to be the plain meaning of those solemn 
words which God spake of himself : " Do not I fill heaven 
and earth ?" And these sufficiently prove his omnipre- 
sence : which may be further proved from this consider- 
ation ; God acts everywhere, and, therefore, is every- 
where : for it is an utter impossibility that any being, cre- 
ated or uncreated, should work where it is not. God acts 
in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, throughout the 
whole compass of his creation ; by sustaining all things, 
without which every thing would in an instant sink into 
its primitive nothing ; by governing all, every moment su- 
perintending every thing that he has made ; strongly and 
sweetly influencing all, and yet without destroying the 
liberty of his rational creatures. The very heathens ac- 
knowledged, that the great God governs the large and 
conspicuous parts of the universe ; that he regulates the 
motions of the heavenly bodies, of the sun, moon, and 
stars ; that he is 

Totam 

Mens agitans molem, et magno se corpore miscens : 

" The all-informing Soul 
That fills, pervades, and actuates the whole." 

But they had no conception of his having a regard to 
the least things as Avell as the greatest ; of his presiding 
over all that he has made, and governing atoms as well as 
worlds. This we could not have known, unless it had 
pleased God to reveal it unto us himself. Had he not 
himself told us so, we should not have dared to think that 
" not a sparrow falleth to the ground without the will of 
our Father which is in heaven and much less affirm 
that " even the very hairs of our head are all numbered." 

This comfortable truth that " God filleth heaven and 
earth," we learn also from the psalmist above recited : 



66 



WESLEY AN A — OF GOD, 



" If I climb up into heaven, thou art there ; if I go down 
to hell, thou art there also. If I take the wings of the 
morning, and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea, even 
there thy hand shall lead me." The plain meaning is s If 
I remove to any distance whatever, thou art there ; thou 
still besettest me, and layest thy hand upon me. Let 
me flee to any conceivable or inconceivable distance, 
above, beneath, or on any side ; it makes no difference ; 
thou art still equally there : in thee I still " live, and move, 
and have my being." 

And where no creature is, still God is there. The pre- 
sence or absence of any or all creatures makes no differ- 
ence with regard to him. He is equally in all, or without 
all. Many have been the disputes among philosophers, 
whether there be any such thing as empty space in the 
universe : and it is now generally supposed that all space 
is full. Perhaps it cannot be proved that all space is filled 
with matter. But the heathen himself will bear us wit- 
ness, Jovis omnia plena : " All things are full of God." 
Yea, and whatever space exists beyond the bounds of cre- 
ation, (for creation must have bounds, seeing nothing is 
boundless, nothing can be, but the great Creator,) even that 
space cannot exclude Him who fills the heaven and the 
earth. 

Just equivalent to this is the expression of the apostle, 
Eph. ii, 23, (not as some have strangely supposed, con- 
cerning the church, but concerning the Head of it,) " the 
fulness of Him that fllleth all in all ;" ra Tzavra ev ttckjiv 
literally translated, all things in all things : the strongest 
expression of universality which can possibly be con- 
ceived. It necessarily includes the least and the greatest 
of all things that exist. So that if any expression could 
be stronger, it would be stronger than even that, the " fill- 
ing heaven and earth." 

Indeed this very expression, " Do not I fill heaven and 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 



67 



earth ?" (the question being equal to the strongest affirm- 
ation,) implies the clearest assertion of God's being pre- 
sent everywhere, and filling all space : for it is well 
known the Hebrew phrase, " heaven and earth," includes 
the whole universe ; the whole extent of space, created 
or uncreated, and all that is therein. — Sermons, vol. ii, 
pp. 412, 413. 

It is true, our narrow understandings but imperfectly 
comprehend this. But whether we comprehend it or not, 
we are certain that so it is. As certain as it is that he 
created all things, and that he still sustains all that is cre- 
ated, so certain it is that he is present at all times, in all 
places ; that he is above, beneath ; that he " besets us 
behind and before," and, as it were, " lays his hand upon 
us." We allow " such knowledge is too high" and won- 
derful for us ; we " cannot attain unto it." The manner 
of his presence no man can explain, nor, probably, any 
angel in heaven. Perhaps what the ancient philosopher 
speaks of the soul, in regard to its residence in the body, 
that it is tota in toto, et tota in qualibet parte, might, in 
some sense, be spoken of the omnipresent Spirit in regard 
to the universe : that he is not only " all in the whole, but 
all in every part." Be this as it may, it cannot be doubted 
but he sees every atom of his creation, and that a thou- 
sand times more clearly than we see the things that are 
close to us: even of these we see only the surface, while 
he sees the inmost essence of every thing. — Sermons, 
vol. ii, p. 101. 

SECTION V. 

His Omnipotence. 

He is omnipotent as well as omnipresent : there can be 
no more bounds to his power, than to his presence. He 
" hath a mighty arm : strong is his hand, and high is his 



C 



68 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 



right hand." He doeth whatsoever pleaseth him, in the 
heavens, the earth, the sea, and in all deep places. With 
men, we know, many things are impossible, " but not with 
God : with him all things are possible." Whensoever he 
willeth, to do is present with him. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 
429, 430. 

SECTION VI. 
His Omniscience. 

And as this all-wise, all-gracious being created all things, 
so he sustains all things. He is the preserver, as well as 
the creator of every thing that exists. " He upholdeth all 
things by the word of his power ;" that is, by his power- 
ful word. Now it must be that he knows every thing he 
has made, and every thing that he preserves from moment 
to moment ; otherwise he could not preserve it, he could 
not continue to it the being which he has given it. And it 
is nothing strange that He who is omnipresent, who " filleth 
heaven and earth," who is in every place, should see what 
is in every place where he is intimately present. If the 
eye of man discerns things at a small distance, the eye 
of an eagle what is at a greater, the eye of an angel what 
is at a thousand times greater distance, (perhaps taking in 
the surface of the earth at one view;) how shall not the 
eye of God see every thing through the whole extent of 
creation ? Especially considering that nothing is distant 
from him, in whom we all " live, and move, and have 
our being." — Sennons, vol. ii, p. 101. 

The omnipresent God sees and knows all the proper- 
ties of the beings that he hath made. He knows all the 
connections, dependances, and relations, and all the ways 
wherein one of them can affect another. In particular, he 
saw all the inanimate parts of the creation, whether in 
heaven above, or in the earth beneath. He knows how the 



WESLEYANA OP GOD, 



69 



stars, comets, or planets above, influence the inhabitants 
of the earth beneath; what influence the lower heavens, 
with their magazines of fire, hail, snow, and vapours, 
winds, and storms, have on our planet, and what effects 
may be produced in the bowels of the earth by fire, air 7 
or water ; what exhalations may be raised therefrom, and 
what changes wrought thereby ; what effects every mineral 
or vegetable may have upon the children of men : all these 
lie naked and open to the eye of the Creator and Preserver 
of the universe. 

He knows all the animals of the lower world, whether 
beasts, birds, fishes, reptiles, or insects. He knows all 
the qualities and powers he hath given them, from the 
highest to the lowest. He knows every good angel, and 
every evil angel, in every part of his dominions ; and looks 
from heaven upon the children of men over the whole face 
of the earth. He knows all the hearts of the sons of men ? 
and understands all their thoughts : he sees what any an- 
gel, any devil, any man, either thinks, or speaks, or does ; 
yea, and all they feel. He sees all their sufferings, with 
every circumstance of them. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 101, 102. 

The omniscience of God is a clear and necessary con- 
sequence of his omnipresence. If he is present in every 
part of the universe, he cannot but know 7 whatever is, or 
is done there : according to the words of St. James, " known 
unto God are all his works," and the works of every crea- 
ture, " from the beginning" of the world ; or rather, as the 
phrase literally implies, " from eternity." His eyes are 
not only " over all the earth, beholding the evil and the 
good but likewise over the whole creation ; yea, and 
the paths of uncreated night. Is there any difference be- 
tween his knowledge and his wisdom 1 If there be, is 
not his knowledge the more general term, (at least accord- 
ing to our weak conceptions,) and his wisdom a particular 
branch of it ? namely, the knowing the end of every thing 



70 



WESLEY ANA OF GOD. 



that exists, and the means of applying it to that end ? — 

Sermons voL ii, p. 430. 

SECTION VIL 
His Incomprehe nsibilit y . 

How astonishingly little do we know of God \ How 
small a part of his nature do we know : of his essential 
attributes ! What conception can we form of his omnipre- 
sence ? Who is able to comprehend how God is in this 
and everyplace? how he fills the immensity of space? 
if philosophers, by denying the existence of a vacuum, 
only meant that there is no place empty of God, that every 
point of infinite space is full of God, certainly no man 
could call it in question. But still, the fact being admitted, 
what is omnipresence or ubiquity ? Man is no more able 
to comprehend this than to grasp the universe. 

The omnipresence or immensity of God Sir Isaac New- 
ton endeavours to illustrate by a strong expression, by 
terming infinite space " the sensorium of the Deity." And 
the very heathens did not scruple to say, " all things are 
full of God just equivalent with his own declaration, 
" Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord ?" How 
beautifully does the psalmist illustrate this ! — a Whither 
shall I flee from thy presence ? If I go up into heaven, 
thou art there : if I go down to. hell, thou art there also. 
If I take the wings of the morning, and remain in the ut ■ 
termost parts of the sea ; even there thy hand shall find 
me, and thy right hand shall hold me." But, in the mean 
time, what conception can we form either of his eternity 
or immensity ? Such knowledge is too wonderful for us : 
we cannot attain unto it. 

A second essential attribute of God is eternity. He 
existed before all time. Perhaps we might more properly 
say, He does exist from everlasting to everlasting. But 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 



what is eternity ? A celebrated author says, that the di- 
vine eternity is " vitm interminabilis tota simul et perfecta 
possessio the at once entire and perfect possession of 
never-ending life. But how much wiser are we for this 
definition 1 We know just as much of it as we did before. 
" The at once entire and perfect possession !" Who can 
conceive what this means 1 

If indeed God had stamped (as some have maintained) 
an idea of himself on every human soul, we must certainly 
have understood something of these, as well as his other 
attributes ; for we cannot suppose he would have impressed 
upon us either a false or an imperfect idea of himself; but 
the truth is, no man ever did, or does now, find any such 
idea stamped upon his soul. The little which we do know 
of God,) except what we receive by the inspiration of the 
Holy One,) we do not gather from any inward impres- 
sion, but gradually acquire from without. " The invisible 
things of God," if they are known at all, " are known 
from the things that are made :" not from what God hath 
written in our hearts, but from what he hath written in all 
works. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 117, 118. 

SECTION VIII. 
His Holiness. 

Holiness is another of the attributes of the almighty, 
all-wise God. He is infinitely distant from every touch 
of evil. He " is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 
He is a God of unblemished justice and truth : but above 
all is his mercy. This we may easily learn from that 
beautiful passage in the thirty-third and thirty-fourth chap- 
ters of Exodus : " And Moses said, I beseech thee, show 
me thy glory. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and 
proclaimed the name of the Lord, The Lord, the Lord 
God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant 



72 



WESLEYANA — OP GOD. 



in goodness and truth ; keeping mercy for thousands, and 
forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin"— Sermons, 
vol. ii, p. 430. 

SECTION IX. 
The Creator of all things. 

" In the beginning God created the matter of the heavens 
and the earth." (So the words, as a great man observes, 
may properly be translated.) He first created the four 
elements out of which the whole universe was composed ; 
earth, water, air, and fire, all mingled together in one com- 
mon mass. The grosser parts of this, the earth and wa- 
ter, were utterly without form till God infused a principle 
of motion, commanding the air to move " upon the face 
of the waters." In the next place, " the Lord God said, 
Let there be light : and there was light." Here were the 
four constituent parts of the universe ; the true, original, 
simple elements. They were all essentially distinct from 
each other, and yet so intimately mixed together, in all 
compound bodies, that we cannot find any, be it ever so 
minute, which does not contain them all. 

" And God saw that" every one of these " was good f 
was perfect in its kind. The earth was good. The whole 
surface of it was beautiful in a high degree. To make it 
more agreeable, 

" He clothed 
The univeral face with pleasant green." 

He adorned it with flowers of every hue, and with shrubs 
and trees of every kind. And every part was fertile, as 
well as beautiful; it was no way deformed by rough or 
ragged rocks ; it did not shock the view with horrid pre- 
cipices, huge chasms, or dreary caverns ; with deep im- 
passable morasses, or deserts of barren sand. But we 
have not any authority to say, with some learned and inge- 



WESLEY ANA— —OF GOD, 



73 



nious authors, that there were no mountains on the original 
earth, no unevenness on its surface. It is not easy to re- 
concile this hypothesis with those words of Moses " The 
waters prevailed ; and all the high hills that were under 
the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward 
[above the highest] did the water prevail, and the moun- 
tains were covered," Gen. vii, 19-23. We have no reason 
to believe that these mountains were produced by the de- 
luge itself ; not the least intimation of this is given : there- 
fore we cannot doubt but they existed before it. Indeed 
they answered many excellent purposes, beside greatly 
increasing the beauty of the creation by a variety of pros- 
pects, which had been totally lost had the earth been one 
extended plain. Yet we need not suppose their sides were 
abrupt, or difficult of ascent. It is highly probable that 
they rose and fell by almost insensible degrees. 

As to the internal parts of the earth, even to this day we 
have scarce any knowledge of them. Many have sup- 
posed the centre of the globe to be surrounded with an 
abyss of fire. Many others have imagined it to be encom- 
passed with an abyss of water, which they supposed to 
be termed in Scripture "the great deep," Gen. vii, 11 ; 
all the fountains of which were broken up in order to the 
general deluge. But, however this was, we are sure all 
things were disposed therein with the most perfect order 
and harmony. Hence there were no agitations within the 
bowels of the globe ; no violent convulsions ; no concus- 
sions of the earth ; no earthquakes ; but all was unmoved 
as the pillars of heaven. There were then no such things 
as eruptions of fire ; there were no volcanoes, or burning 
mountains. Neither Vesuvius, Etna, nor Hecla, if they 
had any being, then poured out smoke and flame, but were 
covered with a verdant mantle, from the top to the bottom. 

The element of water, it is probable, was then mostly 
confined within the great abyss. In the new earth, (as we 

4 



74 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD* 



are informed by the apostle, Rev. xxi, 1,) "there will be 
no more sea none covering, as now, the face of the earth, 
and rendering so large a part of it uninhabitable by man. 
Hence it is probable there was no external sea in the pa- 
radisaical earth ; none until the great deep burst the bar- 
riers which were originally appointed for it. Indeed there 
was not then that need of the ocean for navigation which 
there is now : for either, as the poet supposes, 

Oranis tulit omnia tellus ; 

every country produced whatever was requisite either for 
the necessity or comfort of its inhabitants ; or man, being 
then (as he will be again at the resurrection) equal to an- 
gels, was made able to convey himself, at his pleasure, to 
any given distance ; over and above that, those flaming 
messengers were always ready to minister to the heirs of 
salvation. But whether there was sea or not, there were 
rivers sufficient to water the earth, and make it very plen- 
teous. These answered all the purposes of convenience 
and pleasure by 

" liquid lapse of murmuring stream ;" 

to which were added gentle, genial showers, with salutary 
mists and exhalations. But there were no putrid lakes, 
no turbid or stagnating waters ; but only such as 

" bore imprest 
Fair nature's image on their placid breast." 

The element of air was then always serene, and always 
friendly to man. It contained no frightful meteors, nor 
unwholesome vapours, no poisonous exhalations. There 
were no tempests, but only cool and gentle breezes, 

genitabilis aura Favoni, 

fanning both man and beast, and wafting the fragrant 
odours on their silent wings. 



WESLEY" AN A OF GOD. 



75 



The sun, the fountain of fire, 

" Of this great world both eye and soul," 

was situated at the most exact distance from the earth, so 
as to yield a sufficient quantity of heat (neither too little 
nor too much) to every part of it. God had not yet 

" Bid his angels turn askance 
This oblique globe." 

There was therefore then no country that groaned under 
" The rage of Arctos and eternal frost." 
There was no violent winter, or sultry summer ; no ex- 
treme, either of heat or cold. No soil was burned up by the 
solar heat; none uninhabitable through the want of it. 
Thus earth, water, air, and fire, all conspired together to 
the welfare and pleasure of man. 

To the same purpose served the grateful vicissitude 
of light and darkness, day and night. For as the human 
body, though not liable to death or pain, yet needed con- 
tinual sustenance by food ; so, although it was not liable to 
weariness, yet it needed continual reparation by sleep. By 
this the springs of the animal machine were wound up 
from time to time, and kept always fit for the pleasing 
labour for which man was designed by his Creator. Ac- 
cordingly " the evening and the morning were the first day," 
before sin or pain was in the world. The first natural 
day had one part dark, for a season of repose ; one part 
light, for a season of labour. And even in paradise 
" Adam slept" (Gen. ii, 21) before he sinned: sleep 
therefore belonged to innocent human nature. Yet I do 
not apprehend it can be inferred from hence that there is 
either darkness or sleep in heaven. Surely there is no 
darkness in that city of God. Is it not expressly said, 
(Rev. xxii, 5,) " There shall be no night there ?" Indeed 
they have no light from the sun ; but " the Lord giveth 



76 



WESLEY ANA — OF GOD. 



them light." So it is all day in heaven, as it is all night 
in hell. On earth we have a mixture of both. Day and 
night succeed each other, till earth shall be turned to 
heaven. Neither can we at all credit the account given 
by the ancient poet concerning sleep in heaven ; although 
he allows " cloud-compelling Jove" to remain awake, 
while the inferior gods were sleeping. It is pity, there- 
fore, that our great poet should copy so servilely after the 
old heathen, as to tell us, 

11 Sleep had seal'd 
All but th' unsleeping eyes of God himself." 

Not so : they that are " before the throne of God serve 
him day and night," speaking after the manner of men, 
" in his temple," Rev. vii, 15, that is, without any in- 
terval. As wicked spirits are tormented day and night, 
without any intermission of their misery ; so holy spirits 
enjoy God day and night without any intermission of their 
happiness. 

On the second day God encompassed the terraqueous 
globe with that noble appendage the atmosphere ; consist- 
ing chiefly of air, but replete with earthly particles of va- 
rious kinds, and with huge volumes of water, sometimes 
visible, buoyed up by that ethereal fire, a particle of which 
cleaves to every particle of air. By this the water was 
divided into innumerable drops, which, descending, wa- 
tered the earth and made it very plenteous, without in- 
commoding any of its inhabitants. For there were then 
no impetuous currents of air ; no tempestuous winds ; no 
furious hail ; no torrents of rain ; no rolling thunders, or 
forky lightnings. One perennial spring was perpetually 
smiling over the whole surface of the earth. 

On the third day God commanded all kinds of vegetables 
to spring out of the earth; and then, to add thereto innu- 
merable herbs, intermixed with flowers of all hues. To 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 



77 



these were added shrubs of every kind ; together with tall 
and stately trees, whether for shade, for timber, or for 
fruit, in endless variety. Some of these were adapted to 
particular climates, or particular exposures ; while vegeta- 
bles of more general use (as wheat in particular) were 
not confined to one country, but would flourish almost in 
every climate. But among all these there were no weeds ; 
no useless plants ; none that encumbered the ground ; much 
less were there any poisonous ones, tending to hurt any 
one creature ; but every thing was salutary in its kind, 
suitable to the gracious design of its great Creator. 

The Lord now created " the sun to rule the day, and 
moon to govern the night." The sun was 

" Of this great world both eye and soul — " 

the eye, making all things visible ; distributing light to 
every part of the system ; and thereby rejoicing both 
earth and sky; and the soul, the principle of all life, 
whether to vegetables or animals. Some of the uses of 
the moon we are acquainted with : her causing the ebbing 
and flowing of the sea, and influencing, in a greater or 
smaller degree, all the fluids in the terraqueous globe. 
And many other uses she may have, unknown to us, but 
known to the wise Creator. But it is certain she had no 
hurtful, no unwholesome influence on any living creature. 
" He made the stars also ;" both those that move around 
the sun, whether of the primary or secondary order ; or 
those that, being at a far greater distance, appear to us 
fixed in the firmament of heaven. Whether comets are to 
be numbered among the stars, and whether they were 
parts of the original creation, is, perhaps, not so easy to 
determine, at least with certainty ; as we have nothing 
but probable conjecture either concerning their nature or 
their use. We know not whether, (as some ingenious 
men Have imagined,) they are ruined worlds— worlds that 



78 WESLEYAXA — OF GOD. 

have undergone a general conflagration ; or whether (as 
others not improbably suppose) they are immense reser- 
voirs of fluids, appointed to revolve at certain seasons, 
and to supply the still decreasing moisture of the earth. 
But certain we are that they did not either produce or 
portend any evil. They did not (as many have fancied 
since) 

" From their horrid hair 
Shake pestilence and war." 

The Lord God afterward peopled the earth with animals 
of every kind. He first commanded the waters to bring 
forth abundantly : to bring forth creatures which, as they 
inhabited a grosser element, so they were in general of 
a more stupid nature ; endowed with fewer senses and 
less understanding than other animals. The bivalved shell- 
fish, in particular, seem to have no sense but that of feel- 
ing, unless, perhaps, a low measure of taste ; so that they 
are but one degree above vegetables. And even the king 
of the waters, (a title which some give the whale, because 
of his enormous magnitude,) though he has sight added to 
taste and feeling, does not appear to have an understand- 
ing proportioned to his bulk. Rather he is inferior therein, 
not only to most birds and beasts, but to the generality of 
even reptiles and insects. However, none of these then 
attempted to devour, or in any wise hurt one another. All 
were peaceful and quiet, as were the watery fields wherein 
they ranged at pleasure. 

It seems the insect kinds were at least one degree above 
the inhabitants of the waters. Almost all these too de- 
vour one another, and every other creature which they 
can conquer. Indeed such is the miserably disordered 
state of the world at present, that innumerable creatures 
can no otherwise preserve their own lives than by destroy- 
ing others. But in the beginning it was not so. The pa- 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 



79 



radisaical earth afforded a sufficiency of food for all its 
inhabitants ; so that none of them had any need or temp- 
tation to prey upon the other. The spider was then as 
harmless as the fly, and did not then lie in wait for blood. 
The weakest of them crept securely over the earth, or 
spread their gilded wings in the air, and wavered 4n the 
breeze, or glittered in the sun, without any to make them 
afraid. Meantime the reptiles of every kind were equally 
harmless, and more intelligent than they ; yea, one species 
of them " was more subtle," or knowing, " than any of 
the" brute creation " which God had made." 

But, in general, the birds, created to fly in the open fir- 
mament of heaven, appear to have been of an order far 
superior to either insects or reptiles ; although still con- 
siderably inferior to beasts : as we now restrain that word 
to quadrupeds, four-footed animals, which, two hundred 
years ago, included every kind of living creatures. Many 
species of these are not only endowed with a large mea- 
sure of natural understanding, but are likewise capable 
of much improvement by art, such as one would not readily 
conceive. But among all these there were no birds or 
beasts of prey ; none that destroyed or molested another ; 
but all the creatures breathed, in their several kinds, the 
benevolence of their great Creator. 

Such was the state of the creation, according to the 
scanty ideas which we can now form concerning it, when 
its great Author, surveying the whole system at one view, 
pronounced it " very good." It was good in the highest 
degree whereof it was capable, and without any mixture 
of evil. Every part was exactly suited to the others, and 
conducive to the good of the whole. There was a " golden 
chain," to use the expression of Plato, " let down from the 
throne of God ;" an exactly connected series of beings., 
from the highest to the lowest ; from dead earth, through 
fossils, vegetables, animals, to man created in the image 



50 



WESLEY AN A OF GOD 



of God, and designed to know, to love, and to enjoy his 
Creator to all eternity. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 25-29. 

SECTION X. 

All things created for Himself, 

God created all things for himself : more especially all 
intelligent spirits. (And indeed it seems that intelligence, 
in some kind or degree, is inseparable from spiritual be- 
ings ; that intelligence is as essential to spirits as extension 
is to matter.) He made those more directly for himself, 
to know, love, and enjoy him. As the sun is the centre 
of the solar system, so (as far as we may compare ma- 
terial things with spiritual) we need not scruple to affirm 
that God is the centre of spirits. And as long as they are 
united to Him, created spirits are at rest : they are at rest 
so long, and no longer, as they " attend upon the Lord 
without distraction." — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 191, 192. 

SECTION XI. 

The Source of Holiness to others. 

" It is God that worketh in us both to will and to do 
of his good pleasure." The meaning of these words may 
be made more plain by a small transposition of them. " It 
is God that of his good pleasure worketh in you both to 
will and to do." This position of the words connecting 
the phrase, of his good pleasure, with the word worketh, 
removes all imagination of merit from man, and gives God 
the whole glory of his work. Otherwise we might have 
had some room for boasting, as if it were our own desert, 
some goodness in us, or some good thing done by us, which 
first moved God to work. But this expression cuts off all 
such vain conceits, and clearly shows his motive to work 
lay wholly in himself ; in his own mere grace ; in his un- 
merited mercy. 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 



81 



It is by this alone he is impelled to work in man both 
to will and to do. The expression is capable of two in- 
terpretations, both of which are unquestionably true. First, 
to will, may include the whole of inward ; to do, the whole 
of outward religion. And if it be thus understood, it im- 
plies, that it is God that worketh both inward and outward 
holiness. Secondly, to will, may imply every good de- 
sire ; to do, whatever results therefrom. And then the 
sentence means, God breathes into us every good desire, 
and brings every good desire to good effect. 

The original words to &e?ietv and to evepyeiv, seem to fa- 
vour the latter construction : to dehetv, which we render 
to will, plainly including every good desire, whether relat- 
ing to our tempers, words, or actions ; to inward or out- 
ward holiness. And to evepyeiv, which we render to do, 
manifestly implies all that power from on high, all that 
energy which works in us every right disposition, and then 
furnishes us for every good word and work. 

Nothing can so directly tend to hide pride from man, as 
a deep, lasting conviction of this. For if we are thoroughly 
sensible that we have nothing which we have not received, 
how can we glory as if we had not received it 1 If we 
know and feel that the very first motion of good is from 
above, as well as the power which conducts it to the end ; 
if it is God that not only infuses every good desire, but that 
accompanies and follows it, else it vanishes away ; then 
it evidently follows, that " he who glorieth must glory in 
the Lord." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 235. 

SECTION XII. 
His love to Man, 

All the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man 
are of his mere grace, bounty, or favour ; his free, unde- 
served favour ; favour altogether undeserved : man having 

4* 



\ 



82 



WE SL EVAN" A OF GOD. 



no claim to the least of his mercies. It was free grace 
that " formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed 
into him a living soul," and stamped on that soul the 
image of God, and " put all things under his feet." The 
same free grace continues to us, at this day, life, and breath, 
and all things. For there is nothing we are, or have, or 
do, which can deserve the least thing at God's hand. " All 
our works, thou, God, hast wrought in us !" These 
therefore are so many more instances of his free mercy ; 
and, whatever righteousness may be found in man, this 
is also the gift of God. — Sennons, vol. i, p. 13. 

SECTION XIII. 
Freeness of his Love. 

How freely does God love the world ! While we were 
yet sinners, " Christ died for the ungodly." While we 
were " dead in sin," God " spared not his own Son, but 
delivered him up for us all." And how freely with him 
does he " give us all things !" Verily free grace is all 
in all. 

The grace or love of God, whence comethour salvation, 

is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL. 

First, it is free in all to whom it is given. It does 
not depend on any power or merit in man : no, not in 
any degree, neither in whole nor in part. It does not in 
any wise depend either on the good works or righteous- 
ness of the receiver : not on any thing he has done, or 
any thing he is. It does not depend on his endeavours. 
It does not depend on his good tempers, or good desires, 
or good purposes and intentions ; for all these flow from 
the free grace of God ; they are the streams only, not the 
fountain. They are the fruits of free grace, and not the 
root. They are not the cause, but the effects of it. What- 
soever good is in man, or is done by man, God is the an- 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 



83 



thor and doer of it. Thus is his grace free in all ; that 
is, no way depending on any power or merit in man, but on 
God alone, who freely gave us his own Son, and " with 
him freely giveth us all things." 

But is it free for all, as well as in all ? [It is.] The 
decree is passed : and so it was before the foundation of the 
world. But what decree ? Even this : " I will set before 
the sons of men i life and death, blessing and cursing. 
And the soul that chooseth life shall live, as the soul that 
chooseth death shall die." This decree, whereby " whom 
God did foreknow he did predestinate," was indeed from 
everlasting : this, whereby all who suffer Christ to make 
them alive are " elect, according to the foreknowledge of 
God," now standeth fast, even as the moon, and as the 
faithful witnesses in heaven ; and when heaven and earth 
shall pass away, yet this shall not pass away, for it is as 
unchangeable and eternal as is the being of God that gave 
it. This decree yields the strongest encouragement to 
abound in all good works and in all holiness ; and it is a 
well-spring of joy, of happiness also, to our great and 
endless comfort. This is worthy of God: it is everyway 
consistent with all the perfections of his nature. It gives 
us the noblest view both of his justice, mercy, and truth. 
To this agrees the whole scope of the Christian revela- 
tion, as well as all the parts thereof. To this Moses and 
all the prophets bear witness, and our blessed Lord and 
all his apostles. Thus Moses, in the name of his Lord, 
" I call heaven and earth to record against you this day, 
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and 
cursing ; therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may 
live." Thus Ezekiel, (to cite one prophet for all,) " The 
soul that sinneth it shall die : the son shall not bear [eter- 
nally] the iniquity of the father. The righteousness of 
the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of 
the wicked shall be upon him," xviii, 20. Thus our blessed 



84 



WESLEY AN A OF GOD. 



Lord : " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and. 
drink," John vii, 37. Thus his great apostle, St. Paul, 
Acts xvii, 13, " God commandeth all men, everywhere, 
to repent ;" — " all men, every where ;" every man in every 
place, without any exception either of place or person. 
Thus St. James, " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask 
of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth 
not, and it shall be given him," James i, 5. Thus St. Pe- 
ter, 2 Pet. iii, 9, " The Lord is not willing that any 
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 
And thus St. John, " If any man sin, we have an advocate 
with the Father ; and he is the propitiation for our sins : 
and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world," 
1 John ii, 1, 2. 

O hear ye this, ye that forget God ! Ye cannot charge 
your death upon him. " Have I any pleasure at all that 
the wicked should die, saith the Lord God ?" Ezek. xviii, 
23, &c. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, 
so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you 
all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed — 
for why will ye die, O house of Israel ? For I have no 
pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord 
God. Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." " As I 
live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death 
of the wicked. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways : 
for why will ye die, O house of Israel ?" Ezek. xxxiii, 11. 
Sennons, vol. i, pp. 482, 490. 

j SECTION XIV. 

His Providence universal. 

The true God is the governor of all things : " His king- 
dom ruleth over all." The government rests upon his 
shoulder throughout all ages. He is the Lord and Dispo- 
ser of the whole creation, and every part of it. And in 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 85 

how astonishing a manner does he govern the world ! How 
far are his ways above human thought ! How little do we 
know of his methods of government ! Only this we know, 
" Ita presides singulis sicut universis, et universis sicut sin- 
gulis /" Thou presidest over each creature as if it were 
the universe, and over the universe as over each indivi- 
dual creature. Dwell a little upon this sentiment: what 
a glorious mystery does it contain ! It is paraphrased in 
the words recited below : 

" Father, how wide thy glories shine ! 
Lord of the universe, — and mine : 
Thy goodness watches o'er the whole, 
As all the world were but one soul : 
Yet keeps my every sacred hair, 
As I remain'd thy single care 1" 

As yet there is a difference, as was said before, in his 
providential government over the children of men. A 
pious writer observes, There is a threefold circle of di- 
vine providence. The outermost circle includes all the 
sons of men ; heathens, Mohammedans, Jews, and Chris- 
tians. He causeth his sun to rise upon all. He giveth 
them rain and fruitful seasons. He pours ten thousand 
benefits upon them, and fills their hearts with food and 
gladness. With an interior circle he encompasses the 
whole visible Christian church ; all that name the name 
of Christ. He has an additional regard to these, and a 
nearer attention to their welfare. But the innermost circle 
of his providence encloses only the invisible church of 
Christ ; all real Christians, wherever dispersed in all cor- 
ners of the earth; all that worship God (whatever de- 
nomination they are of) in spirit and in truth. He keeps 
them as the apple of an eye : he hides them under the 
shadow of his wings. And it is to these in particular that 
our Lord says, " Even the hairs of your head are all num- 
bered." — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 179, 180. 



86 



WESLEY AN A OF GOD. 



It is one of the first principles of religion that His king- 
dom ruleth over all : so that we may say with confidence, 
" Lord our Governor, how excellent is thy name over 
all the earth !" It is a childish conceit to suppose that 
chance governs the world, or has any part in the govern- 
ment of it : no, not even in those things that, to a vulgar 
eye, appear to be perfectly casual. " The lot is cast into 
the lap ; but the disposal thereof is from the Lord." Our 
blessed Master himself has put this matter beyond all pos- 
sible doubt : Not a sparrow, saith he, falleth to the ground 
without the will of your Father which is in heaven : yea, 
(to express the thing more strongly still,) " Even the very 
hairs of your head are ail numbered." — Sermons, vol. ii, 
p. 121. 

SECTION XV. 
His Providence mysterious. 

Incomprehensible to us a"re many of the divine dis- 
pensations with regard to particular families. We cannot 
at all comprehend why He raises some to wealth, honour, 
and power ; and why, in the mean time, he depresses 
others with poverty and various afflictions. Some won- 
derfully prosper in all they take in hand, and the world 
pours in upon them ; while others, with all their labour 
and toil, can scarcely procure daily bread. And perhaps 
prosperity and applause continue with the former to their 
death; while the latter drink the cup of adversity- to their 
life's end : although no reason appears to us either for the 
prosperity of the one, or the adversity of the other. 

As little can we account for the divine dispensations, 
with regard to individuals. We know not why the lot of 
this man is cast in Europe, the lot of that man in the wilds 
of America ; why one is born of rich or noble, the other 
of poor parents ; why the father and mother of one are 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 



87 



strong and healthy ; those of another weak and diseased, 
in consequence of which he drags a miserable being all 
the days of his life, exposed to want, and pain, and a 
thousand temptations, from which he finds no way to 
escape. How many are, from their very infancy, hedged 
in with such relations that they seem to have no chance, 
(as some speak,) no possibility, of being useful to them- 
selves or others ! Why are they, antecedent to their own 
choice, entangled in such connections 1 Why are hurtful 
people so cast in their way that they know not how to 
escape them ? And why are useful persons hid out of their 
sight, or snatched away from them at their utmost need ? 
O God, how unsearchable are thy counsels ! Too deep to 
be fathomed by our reason, and thy ways of executing 
those counsels not to be traced by our wisdom. — Sermons, 
vol. ii, p. 123. 

SECTION XVI. 
His Sovereignty. 

God reveals himself under a twofold character ; as a 
creator, and as a governor. These are no way inconsis- 
tent with each other : but they are totally different. 

As a creator he has acted, in all things, according to 
his own sovereign will. Justice has not, cannot have, any 
place here ; for nothing is due to what has no being. Here 
therefore he may, in the most absolute sense, " do what 
he will with his own." Accordingly he created the 
heavens and the earth, and all things that are therein, in 
every conceivable respect, " according to his own good 
pleasure." 1. He began his creation at what time, or ra- 
ther, at what part of eternity it seemed him good. Had it 
pleased him, it might have been millions of years sooner, 
or millions of ages later. 2. He determined, by his so- 
vereign will, the duration of the universe ; whether it 



88 WESLEY AN A OF GOD. 

should last seven thousand, or seven hundred thousand, or 
numberless millions of years. 3. By the same he ap- 
pointed the place of the universe, in the immensity of 
space. 4. Of his sovereign will he determined the num- 
ber of the stars, of all the component parts of the uni- 
verse, and the magnitude of every atom, of every fixed 
star, every planet, and every comet. 5. As Sovereign, he 
created the earth, with all the furniture of it, whether 
animate or inanimate ; and gave to each such a nature, 
with such properties. 6. Of his own good pleasure he 
made such a creature as man, and, in consequence of his 
spiritual nature, endued him with understanding, will, and 
liberty. 7. He hath determined the times for every na- 
tion to come into being, with the bounds of their habita- 
tion. 8. He has allotted the time, the place, the circum- 
stances, for the birth of each individual. 
" If of parents I came 
That honour'd thy name, 
'Twas thy wisdom appointed it so." 

9. He has given to each a body as it pleased him, weak 
or strong, healthy or sickly. This implies, 10. That he 
gives them various degrees of understanding and of know- 
ledge, diversified by numberless circumstances. It is hard 
to say how far this extends : what an amazing difference 
there is, to the means of improvement, between one born 
and brought up in a pious family, and one born and bred 
among the Hottentots. Only we are sure the difference 
cannot be so gTeat as to necessitate one to be good, or the 
other to be evil - r to force one into everlasting glory, or the 
other into everlasting burnings. This cannot be, because 
it would suppose the character of God, as a creator, to 
interfere with God as a governor : wherein he does not, 
cannot possibly, act according to his own mere sovereign 
will ; but, as he has expressly told us, according to the in- 
variable rules both of justice and mercy. 



WESLEYANA— OF GOD. 



89 



Whether therefore we can account for it or not, (which 
indeed we cannot in a thousand cases,) we must absolutely 
maintain that God is a rewarder of them that diligently 
seek him. But he cannot reward the sun for shining, be- 
cause the sun is not a free agent. Neither could he re- 
ward us for letting our light shine before men, if we acted 
as necessarily as the sun. All reward, as well as all pun- 
ishment, presupposes free agency ; and whatever creature 
is incapable of choice is incapable of either the one or 
the other. 

When, therefore, God acts as a governor, as a rewarder 
or punisher, he no longer acts as a mere sovereign, by his 
own sole will and pleasure ; but as an impartial judge, 
guided in all things by invariable justice. 

Yet it is true that, in some cases, mercy rejoices over 
justice ; although severity never does. God may reward 
more, but he will never punish more, than strict justice 
requires. It may be allowed, that God acts as a sove- 
reign in convincing some souls of sin ; arresting them in 
their mad career by his resistless power. It seems also 
that at the moment of our conversion he acts irresis- 
tibly. There may likewise be many irresistible touches 
during the course of our Christian warfare, with regard to 
which every believer may say, . 

" In the time of my distress 

Thou hast my succour been, 
In my utter helplessness 
Restraining me from sin." 

But still, as St. Paul might have been either obedient or 
" disobedient to the heavenly vision," so every individual 
may, after all that God has done, either improve his grace, 
or make it of none effect. 

Whatever, therefore, it hath pleased God to do, of his 
sovereign pleasure^ as Creator of heaven and earth ; and 



90 



WESLEYANA — OF GOD. 



whatever his mercy may do on particular occasions, over 
and above what justice requires ; the general rule stands 
firm as the pillars of heaven, " The Judge of all the earth 
will do right." He will " judge, the world in righteous- 
ness," and every man therein according to the strictest 
justice. He will punish no man for doing any thing which 
he could not possibly avoid ; neither for omitting any thing 
which he could not possibly do. Every punishment sup- 
poses the offender might have avoided the offence for which 
he is punished. Otherwise, to punish him would be pal- 
pably unjust, and inconsistent with the character of God 
our Governor. 

Let then these two ideas of God the Creator, the sove- 
reign Creator, and God the Governor, the just Governor, 
be always kept apart. Let us distinguish them from each 
other with the utmost care. So shall we give God the 
full glory of his sovereign grace, without impeaching his 
inviolable justice. — Works, vol. vi, pp. 135, 136. 

SECTION XVII. 

Divine Election. 

I believe it commonly means one of these two things, 
first, a divine appointment of some particular men to do 
some particular work in the world. And this election I 
believe to be not only personal, but absolute and uncondi- 
tional. Thus Cyrus was elected to rebuild the temple, and 
St. Paul, with the twelve, to preach the gospel. But I 
do not find this to have any necessary connection with 
eternal happiness. Nay, it is plain it has not ; for one 
who is elected in this sense may yet be lost eternally. 
" Have I not chosen {elected) you twelve," saith our Lord, 
"yet one of you hath a devil?" Judas, you see, was 
elected as well as the rest ; yet is his lot with the devil and 
his angels. 



WESLEYANA OF GOD. 91 



I believe election means, secondly, a divine appointment 
of some men to eternal happiness. But I believe this 
election to be conditional, as well as the reprobation oppo- 
site thereto. I believe the eternal decree concerning both 
is expressed in these words : " He that believeth shall be 
saved : he that believeth not shall be damned." And this 
decree, without doubt, God will not change, and man can- 
not resist. According to this, all true believers are in 
Scripture termed elect : as all who continue in unbelief are 
so long properly reprobates, that is, unapproved of God, and 
without discernment touching the things of the Spirit. 

Now God, to whom all things are present at once, who 
sees all eternity at one view, " calleth the things that are 
not as though they were," the things that are not as yet 
as though they were now subsisting. Thus he calls Abra- 
ham " the father of many nations" before even Isaac was 
born. And thus Christ is called " the Lamb slain from the 
foundation of the world," though he was not slain, in fact, 
till some thousands of years after. In like manner God 
calleth true believers " elect from the foundation of the 
world," although they were not actually elect or believers 
till many ages after, in their several generations. Then 
only it was that they were actually elected when they 
were made " the sons of God by faith." Then were they 
in fact chosen and taken out of the world ; " elect," saith 
St. Paul, " through belief of the truth :" or, as St. Peter 
expresses it, " elect according to the foreknowledge of 
God, through sanctiflcation of the Spirit." 

This election I as firmly believe as I believe the Scrip- 
ture to be of God. But unconditional election I cannot 
believe ; not only because I cannot find it in Scripture, 
but also, (to waive all other considerations,) because it 
necessarily implies unconditional reprobation. Find out 
any election which does not imply reprobation, and I will 
gladly agree to it. But reprobation I can never agree to, 



92 



WESLEYANA— OF CHRIST. 



while I believe the Scriptures to be of God : as being ut- 
terly irreconcilable to the whole scope of the Old and New 
Testaments. — Works, vol. vi, pp. 28,29. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OF JESUS CHRIST. 

SECTION L 

He is the true God. 

He is " God over all, blessed for ever." " He was with 
God ;" with God the Father, " from the beginning from 
eternity ; " and was God." "He and the Father are one ;" 
and, consequently, " he thought it not robbery to be equal 
with God." Accordingly the inspired writers give him all 
the titles of the most high God. They call him over and 
over, by the incommunicable name Jehovah ; never given 
to any creature. They ascribe to him all the attributes 
and all the works of God. So that we need not scruple to 
pronounce him " God of God, Light of light, very God 
of very God : in glory equal with the Father ; in majesty 
coeternal." 

He is the true God, the only Cause, the sole Creator 
of all things. " By him," saith the Apostle Paul, " were 
created all things that are in heaven, and that are on 
earth ;" yea, earth and heaven themselves ; but the inha- 
bitants are named because more noble than the house ; — 
" visible and invisible." The several species of which are 
subjoined : " whether they be thrones, or dominions, or 
principalities, or powers." So St. John : " All things 
were made by him, and without him was not any thing 
made that was made." And accordingly St. Paul applies 
to him those strong words of the psalmist, " Thou, Lord, 



WESLEYANA OF CHRIST, 



P3 



in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and 
the heavens are the work of thy hands." 

And as the true God he is also the Supporter of all the 
things that he hath made. He beareth, upholdeth, sus- 
tained all created things by the word of his power : by 
the same powerful word which brought them out of no- 
thing. As this was absolutely necessary for the beginning 
of their existence, it is equally so for the continuance of 
it : were his almighty influence withdrawn they could not 
subsist a moment longer. Hold up a stone in the air, the 
moment you withdraw your hand it naturally falls to the 
ground. In like manner, were He to withdraw his hand 
for a moment, the creation would fall into nothing. 

As the true God he is likewise the Preserver of all 
things. He not only keeps them in being, but preserves 
them in that degree of well being which is suitable to their 
several natures. He preserves them in their several rela- 
tions, connections, and dependances, so as to compose one 
system of beings, to form one entire universe, according 
to the counsel of his will. How strongly and beautifully 
is this expressed : Ta navra sv avrc) ovveg-qKe. " By whom 
all things consist :" or, more literally, " By and in him are 
all things compacted into one system." He is not only the 
support, but also the cement of the whole universe. — Ser- 
mons, vol. ii, p. 178. 

SECTION II. 
Union of Natures in his Person. 

He was one to whom " God gave not the Spirit by 
measure ; but in him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead 
bodily : and of his fulness we have all received, and grace 
for grace." Indeed, all the communications of the God- 
head which any creatures could receive, were always 
from him as the Word of God : but all that mankind now 



94 WESLEY AX A OF CHRIST. 

in an earthly state were to receive, must be from him by 
means of that body, at first mortal like unto theirs, and 
then glorious " in the likeness of God, 5 ' which he took 
upon him for their sake. 

In the beginning, the heavenly Word— being a Spirit 
that issued from the Father, and the Word of his power — 
made man an image of immortality, according to the like- 
ness of the Father : but he who had been made in the 
image of God afterward became mortal, when the more 
powerful Spirit was separated from him. To remedy this 
the Word became man, that man, by receiving the adop- 
tion, might become a son of God once more ; that the 
light of the Father might rest upon the flesh of our Lord, 
and come bright from thence unto us: and so man, being 
encompassed with the light of the Godhead, might be car- 
ried into immortality. When he was incarnate and be- 
came man. he recapitulated in himself all generations of 
mankind, making himself the centre of our salvation, that 
what we lost in Adam, even the image and likeness of 
God, we might receive in Christ Jesus. By the Holy 
Ghost coming upon Mary, and the power of the Highest 
overshadowing her, the incarnation of Christ was wrought, 
and a new birth, whereby man should be born of God, was 
shown ; that as by our first birth we did inherit death, so 
by this birth we might inherit life. 

This is no other than what St. Paul teaches us: " The 
first man, Adam, was made a living soul, but the second 
Adam was made a quickening spirit."' All that the first 
man possessed of himself, all that he has transmitted to 
us, is " a living soul a nature endued with an animal 
life, and receptive of a spiritual. But the second Adam 
is and was made to us u a quickening spirit :" by a strength 
from him as our Creator we were at first raised above 
ourselves ; by a strength from him as our Redeemer we 
shall again live unto God. 



WESLESTANA — OF CHRIST. 



95 



In him is laid up for us that supplement to our nature 
which we shall find the need of sooner or later ; and that 
it cannot be countervailed by any assistance from the crea- 
tures, or any improvement of our own faculties : for we 
were made to be happy only in God ; and all our labours 
and hopes, while we do not thirst after our deified state, — 
to partake as truly of God as we do of flesh and blood, 
to be glorified in his nature, as we have been dishonoured 
in our own, — are the labours and hopes of those who ut- 
terly mistake themselves. 

The divine wisdom knew what was our proper conso- 
lation, though we did not. What does more obviously 
present itself in the Saviour of the world than a union 
of man with God ? A union attended with all the pro- 
priety of behaviour that we are called to as candidates of 
the Spirit ; such as walking with God in singleness of 
heart, perfect self-renunciation, and a life of sufferings. 
A union which submitted to the necessary stages of our 
progress ; where the divine life was hid for the most part 
in the secret of the soul till death ; in the state of sepa- 
ration comforted the soul, but did not raise it above the 
intermediate region of Paradise ; at the resurrection 
clothed the body with heavenly qualities and the powers of 
immortality ; and at last raised it to the immediate presence 
and right hand of the Father. 

Christ is not only God above us, which may keep us in 
awe, but cannot save ; but he is Immanuel, God with us, 
and in us. As he is the Son of God, God must be where 
he is ; and as he is the Son of man, he will be with man- 
kind : the consequence of this is, that in the future age 
" the tabernacle of God will be with men," and he will 
show them his glory ; and at present he will dwell in their 
hearts by faith in his Son. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 533, 534. 



96 



WESLEYANA— OF CHRIST- 



SECTION III, 
His Righteousness. 

His divine righteousness belongs to his divine nature, 
as he is av 9 He that existeth " over all, God blessed for 
ever the Supreme, the Eternal ; " equal with the Fa- 
ther, as touching his Godhead, though inferior to the Fa- 
ther as touching his manhood." Now this his eternal, 
essential, immutable holiness ; his infinite justice, mercy, 
and truth ; in all which He and the Father are one. 

But I do not apprehend that the divine righteousness of 
Christ is immediately concerned in the present question. 
I believe few, if any, do now contend for the imputation 
of this righteousness to us. Whoever believes the doc- 
trine of imputation, understands it chiefly, if not solely, 
of his human righteousness. 

The human righteousness of Christ belongs to him in 
his human nature ; as he is the " Mediator between God 
and man, the man Christ Jesus." This is either internal 
or external. His internal righteousness is the ima^e of 
God stamped on every power and faculty of his soul. It 
is a copy of his divine righteousness, so far as it can be 
imparted to a human spirit. It is a transcript of the di- 
vine purity, the divine justice, mercy, and truth. It in- 
cludes love, reverence, resignation to his Father ; humi- 
lity, meekness, gentleness ; love to lost mankind, and 
every other holy and heavenly temper ; and all these in 
the highest degree, without any defect, or mixture of un- 
holiness. 

It was the least part of his external righteousness that 
he did nothing amiss ; that he knew not outward sin of 
any kind, neither was " guile found in his mouth ;" that he 
never spoke one improper word, nor did one improper 
action. Thus far it is only a negative righteousness 



WESLEY AN A — OF CHRIST. 



97 



though such a one as never did, nor ever can, belong to 
any one that is born of a woman, save himself alone. But 
even his outward righteousness was positive too : he did 
all things well : in every word of his tongue, in every 
work of his hands, he did precisely the " will of Him 
that sent him." In the whole course of his life he did the 
will of God on earth as the angels do it in heaven. All he 
acted and spoke was exactly right in every circumstance. 
The whole and every part of his obedience was complete. 
" He fulfilled all righteousness." 

But his obedience implied more than all this : it implied 
not only doing, but suffering ; suffering the whole will of 
God, from the time he came into the world, till " he bore 
our sins in his own body upon the tree ;" yea, till having 
made a full atonement for them, " he bowed his head, and 
gave up the ghost." This is usually termed the passive 
righteousness of Christ ; the former, his active righteous- 
ness. But as the active and passive righteousness of 
Christ were never in fact separated from each other, so 
we never need separate them at all, either in speaking or 
even in thinking. And it is with regard to both these con- 
jointly that Jesus is called " The Lord our righteousness." 
Sermons, vol. i, pp. 170, 171. 

SECTION IV. 
His imputed Righteousness. 

Look through all the world, and all the men therein 
are either believers or unbelievers. The first thing, then, 
which admits of no dispute among reasonable men, is this : 
To all believers the righteousness of Christ is imputed ; 
to unbelievers it is not. 

But when is it imputed 1 When they believe : in that 
very hour the righteousness of Christ is theirs. It is 
imputed to every one that believes, as soon as he believes : 

5 



98 



WESLEYANA OF CHRIST. 



faith and the righteousness of Christ are inseparable. For 
if he believes according to Scripture, he believes in the 
righteousness of Christ, There is no true faith, that is, 
justifying faith, which hath not the righteousness of Christ 
for its object. 

But in what sense is this righteousness imputed to be- 
lievers ? In this : all believers are forgiven and accepted, 
not for the sake of any thing in them, or of anything that 
ever was, that is, or ever can be done by them, but wholly 
and solely for the sake of what Christ hath done and suf- 
fered for them. I say again, not for the sake of any thing 
in them, or done by them, of their own righteousness or 
works : ,; Not for works of righteousness which we have 
done, but of his own mercy he saved us." " By grace ye 
are saved, through faith, — not of works, lest any man 
should boast \ n but wholly and solely for the sake of what 
Christ hath done and sutler ed for us. We are " justified 
freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus 
Christ." And this is not only the means of our obtaining 
the favour of God, but of our continuing therein. It is 
thus we come to God at first ; it is by the same we come 
unto him ever after. We walk in one and the same new 
and living way till our spirit returns to God. 

But perhaps some will object, " Nay, but you affirm that 
faith is imputed to us for righteousness.'' St. Paul affirms 
this over and over ; therefore I affirm it too. Faith is im- 
puted for righteousness to every believer ; namely, faith in 
the righteousness of Christ ; but this is exactly the same 
thing which has been said before ; for by that expression 
I mean neither more nor less than that we are justified by 
faith, not by works ; or that every believer is forgiven and 
accepted merely for the sake of what Christ has done and 
suffered. 

But is not a believer invested or clothed with the right- 
eousness of Christ ? Undoubtedly he is. And accord- 



WESLEYANA OF CHRIST. 



99 



ingly the words above recited are the language of every 
believing heart : 

" Jesus, thy blood and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress." 

That is, for the sake of thy active and passive righteous- 
ness I am forgiven and accepted of God. 

But must not we put off the filthy rags of our own right- 
eousness before we can put on the spotless righteousness 
of Christ ? Certainly we must ; that is, in plain terms, we 
must repent before we can believe the gospel. We must 
be cut off from dependance upon ourselves before we can 
truly depend upon Christ. We must cast away all confi- 
dence in our own righteousness, or we cannot have a true 
confidence in His. Till we are delivered from trusting in 
any thing that we do, we cannot thoroughly trust in what 
he has done and suffered. First, we receive the sentence 
of death in ourselves ; then we trust in Him that lived 
and died for us. 

But do not you believe in inherent righteousness ? Yes, 
in its proper place ; not as the ground of our acceptance 
with God, but as the fruit of it ; not in the place of imputed 
righteousness, but as consequent upon it. That is, I be- 
lieve God implants righteousness in every one to whom 
he has imputed it. I believe " Jesus Christ is made of 
God unto us sanctification," as well as " righteousness ;" 
or, that God sanctifies, as well as justifies, all them that 
believe in him. They to whom the righteousness of Christ 
is imputed, are made righteous by the Spirit of Christ ; 
are renewed in the image of God, " after the likeness 
wherein they were created, in righteousness and true ho- 
liness." 

But do not you put faith in the room of Christ, or of his 
righteousness 1 By no means : I take particular care to 
put each of these in its proper place. The righteousness 



100 



WES LEY ANA — OF CHRIST. 



of Christ is the whole and sole foundation of all our hope. It 
is by faith that the Holy Ghost enables us to build upon 
this foundation. God gives this faith : in that moment we 
are accepted of God; and yet, not for the sake of that 
faith, but of what Christ has done and suffered for us. 
You see each of these has its proper place, and neither 
clashes with the other ; we believe, we love, we endea- 
vour to walk in all the commandments of the Lord blame- 
less ; yet, 

«' While thus we bestow 

Our moments below, 

Ourselves we forsake, 
And refuge in Jesus's righteousness take. 

His passion alone, 

The foundation we own ; 

And pardon we claim, 
And eternal redemption, in Jesus's name." 

I therefore no more deny the righteousness of Christ 
than I deny the Godhead of Christ ; and a man may full 
as justly charge me with denying the one as the other. 
Neither do I deny imputed righteousness : this is another 
unkind and unjust accusation. I always did, and do still 
continually affirm, that the righteousness of Christ is im- 
puted to every believer. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 171-174. 

SECTION V. 
The Saviour of Men. 

In this state we were, even all mankind, when " God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, to the 
end we might not perish, but have everlasting life." In 
the fulness of time he was made man, another common 
head of mankind, a second general parent and representa- 
tive of the whole human race. And as such it was that 
" he bore our griefs," « the Lord laying upon him the ini- 



WESLEYANA OF CHRIST. 



101 



quities of us all." Then was he " wounded for our trans- 
gressions, and bruised for our iniquities." " He made his 
soul an offering for sin ;" he poured out his blood for the 
transgressors ; he " bare our sins in his own body on 
the tree," that by his stripes we might be healed : and by 
that one oblation of himself, once offered, he hath redeemed 
me and all mankind ; having thereby " made a full, per- 
fect, and sufficient sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins 
of the whole world." 

In consideration of this, that the Son of God hath 
" tasted death for every man," God hath now " reconciled 
the world to himself, not imputing to them their former 
trespasses." And thus, " as by the offence of one judg- 
ment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the 
righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to 
justification." So that for the sake of his well beloved 
Son, of what he hath done and suffered for us, God now 
vouchsafes, on one only condition, (which himself also 
enables us to perform,) both to remit the punishment due 
to our sins, to reinstate us in his favour, and to restore our 
dead souls to spiritual life, as the earnest of life eternal. 

This is the general ground of the whole doctrine of jus- 
tification. By the sin of the first Adam, who was not only 
the father, but likewise the representative of us all, we all 
fell short of the favour of God ; we all became children 
of wrath ; or, as the apostle expresses it, "judgment came 
upon all men to condemnation." Even so, by the sacri- 
fice for sin made by the second Adam, as the representa- 
tive of us all, God is so far reconciled to all the world 
that he hath given them a new covenant ; the plain condi- 
tion whereof being once fulfilled, " there is no more con- 
demnation" for us, but " we are justified freely by his 
grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." 
Sermons, vol. i, p. 46. 



102 



WES LEY AX A — OF CHRIST. 



SECTION VI. 
The Author of eternal Life. 

" He is the author of eternal salvation to all them that 
obey him." He is the purchaser of that " crown of life," 
which will be given to all that are " faithful unto death." 
And he will be the soul of all their joys to all the saints in 
glory. 

" The flame of angelical love 
Is kindled at Jesus's face ; 
And all the enjoyment above 
Consists in the rapturous gaze." 

The thing directly intended is not that he is the resur- 
rection : although this also is true, according to his own 
declaration, " I am the resurrection and the life :" agree- 
ably to which are St. Paul's words, " As in Adam all die, 
even so in Christ shall all be made alive." So that we 
may well say, " Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who — hath begotten us again unto a 
lively hope, by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, to 
an inheritance incorruptible, and undenled, and that fadeth 
not away." 

But waiving what he will be hereafter, we are here called 
to consider what he is now. He is now the life of every 
thing that lives, in any kind or degree. He is the source 
of the lowest species of life ; that of vegetables ; as being 
the source of all the motion on which vegetation depends. 
He is the fountain of the life of animals ; the power by 
which the heart beats, and the circulating juices flow. He 
is the fountain of all the life which man possesses, in 
common with other animals. And if we distinguish the 
rational from the animal life, he is the source of this also. 

But how infinitely short does all this fall of the life 
which is here directly intended, and of which the apostle 



WESLEYANA OF CHRIST. 



103 



speaks so explicitly in the preceding verses, (ver. 11, 12:) 
" This is the testimony, that God hath given us eternal 
life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath 
life ; [the eternal life here spoken of ;] and he that hath 
not the Son [of God] hath not [this] life." As if he had 
said, This is the sum of the testimony which God hath 
testified of his Son, that God hath given us, not only a 
title to, but the real beginning of eternal life : and this life 
is purchased by, and treasured up in his Son : who has 
all the springs and the fulness of it in himself, to commu- 
cate to his body, the church. 

This eternal life then commences when it pleases the 
Father to reveal his Son in our hearts ; when we first 
know Christ, being enabled to " call him Lord by the Holy 
Ghost ;" when we can testify, our conscience bearing us 
witness in the Holy Ghost, " The life which I now live 
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave 
himself for me." And then it is that happiness begins ; 
happiness real, solid, substantial. Then it is that heaven 
is opened in the soul, that the proper heavenly state com- 
mences, while the love of God, as loving us, is shed abroad 
in the heart, instantly producing love to all mankind ; 
general pure benevolence, together with its genuine fruits, 
lowliness, meekness, patience, contentedness in every 
state ; an entire, clear, full acquiescence in the whole will 
of God ; enabling us to " rejoice evermore, and in every- 
thing to give thanks." 

As our knowledge and our love of him increase, by the 
same degrees, and in the same proportion, the kingdom 
of an inward heaven must necessarily increase also ; while 
we " grow up in all things into Him who is our head." 
And when we are ev avrc) ireirfypofievoi, complete in him, as 
our translators render it ; but more properly, when we are 
filled with him; when " Christ is in us, the hope of glory," 
is our God and our all ; when he has taken the full pos- 



104 



WESLEYANA OF CHRIST. 



session of our heart ; when he reigns therein without a 
rival, the Lord of every motion there ; when we dwell in 
Christ, and Christ in us, we are one with Christ, and 
Christ with us ; then we are completely happy ; and then 
we live " all the life that is hid with Christ in God." 
Then, and not till then, we properly experience what that 
word meaneth : " God is love : and whosoever dwelleth 
in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him." — Sermons, vol. 
ii, pp. 180, 181. 

SECTION VII. 
Will judge the World. 

The person by whom God will judge the world is his 
only begotten Son, whose " goings forth are from ever- 
lasting ;" " who is God over all, blessed for ever." Unto 
Him, being " the outbeaming of his Father's glory, the 
express image of his person," Heb. i, 3, the Father " hath 
committed all judgment, because he is the Son of Man," 
John v, 22, 27 ; because, though he was " in the form 
of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 
yet he emptied himself, taking upon him the form of a 
servant, being made in the likeness of men," Phil, ii, 6, 
7 : yea, because " being found in fashion as a man, he 
humbled himself, [yet further,] becoming obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath 
highly exalted him," even in his human nature, and " or- 
dained him," as man, to try the children of men, "to be 
the judge both of the quick and dead ;" both of those who 
shall be found alive at his coming, and of those who were 
before gathered to their fathers. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 
127, 128. 



WESLEYANA — OF THE HOLY GHOST. 105 



CHAPTER V. 

OF THE HOLY GHOST, 

SECTION I. 
As the Spirit of Adoption. 

What is that testimony of God's Spirit which is super- 
added to, and conjoined with this [testimony of our own 
spirit ?] How does he " bear witness with our spirit that 
we are the children of God ?" It is hard to find words in 
the language of men to explain " the deep things of God." 
Indeed there are none that will adequately express what 
the children of God experience. But perhaps one might 
say, (desiring any who are taught of God to correct, to 
soften, or strengthen the expression,) The testimony of 
the Spirit is 'an inward impression on the soul whereby 
the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am 
a child of God ; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and 
given himself for me ; and that all my sins are blotted out, 
and I, even I, am reconciled to God. 

That this testimony of the Spirit of God must needs, in 
the very nature of things, be antecedent to the testimony 
of our own spirit, may appear from this single consider- 
ation : We must be holy of heart, and holy in life, before 
we can be conscious that we are so ; before we can have 
the testimony of our spirit that we are inwardly and out- 
wardly holy. But we must love God before we can be 
holy at all ; this being the root of all holiness. Now we 
cannot love God, till we know he loves us. " We love 
him because he first loved us." And we cannot know his 
pardoning love to us till his Spirit witness it to our spirit. 
Since, therefore, this testimony of his Spirit must precede 
the love of God and all holiness, of consequence it must 



106 WESLEYANA — OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



precede our inward consciousness thereof, or the testi- 
mony of our spirit concerning them. 

Then, and not till then — when the Spirit of God beareth 
that witness to our spirit, " God hath loved thee, and given 
his own Son to be the propitiation for thy sins ; the Son 
of God hath loved thee, and hath washed thee from thy 
sins in his own blood ;" — " we love God, because he first 
loved us ;" and, for his sake, we love our brother also. 
And of this we cannot but be conscious to ourselves : we 
" know the things that are freely given to us of God." 
We know that we love God and keep his commandments : 
and " hereby also we know that we are of God." This 
is that testimony of our own spirit which, so long as we 
continue to love God and keep his commandments, con- 
tinues joined with the testimony of God's spirit " that we 
are the children of God." 

Not that I would by any means be understood, by any 
thing which has been spoken concerning it, to exclude 
the operation of the Spirit of God even from the testimony 
of our own spirit. In no wise. It is he that not only 
worketh in us every manner of thing that is good, but also 
shines upon his own work, and clearly shows what he has 
wrought. Accordingly this is spoken of by St. Paul as 
one great end of our receiving the Spirit, " that we may 
know the things which are freely given to us of God :" 
that he may strengthen the testimony of our conscience 
touching our simplicity and godly sincerity ;" and give us 
to discern, in a fuller and stronger light, that we now do 
the things which please him. 

Should it still be inquired, How does the Spirit of God 
" bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of 
God," so as to exclude all doubt, and evince the reality 
of our sonship, — the answer is clear from what has been 
observed above. And first, as to the witness of our spirit : 
The soul as intimately and evidently perceives when it 



WESLEYANA OF THE HOLY GHOST. 107 

loves, delights, and rejoices in God, as when it loves and 
delights in any thing on earth. And it can no more doubt 
whether it loves, delights, and rejoices or no, than whether 
it exists or no. If, therefore, this be just reasoning, 

He that now loves God, and delights and rejoices in 
him with an humble joy, and holy delight, and an obedient 
love, is a child of God : 

Eut I thus love, delight, and rejoice in God : 

Therefore I am a child of God : — 
Then a Christian can in no wise doubt of his being a 
child of God. Of the former proposition he has as full an 
assurance as he has that the Scriptures are of God ; and 
of his thus loving God he has an inward proof which is 
nothing short of self-evidence. Thus the testimony of 
our own spirit is with the most intimate conviction mani- 
fested to our hearts, in such a manner as beyond all rea- 
sonable doubt to evince the reality of our sonship. 

The manner how the divine testimony is manifested to 
the heart I do not take upon me to explain. Such know- 
ledge is too wonderful and excellent for me : I cannot 
attain unto it. The wind bloweth, and I hear the sound 
thereof ; but I cannot tell how it cometh, or whither it 
goeth. As no one knoweth the things of a man save the 
spirit of a man that is in him : so the manner of the 
things of God knoweth no one save the Spirit of God. But 
the fact we know ; namely, that the Spirit of God does 
give a believer such a testimony of his adoption, that 
while it is present to the soul, he can no more doubt the 
reality of his sonship, than he can doubt of the shining of 
the sun while he stands in the full blaze of his beams. 
Sermons, vol. i, pp. 87, 89. 

The sum of all this is : The testimony of the Spirit is 
an inward impression on the souls of believers whereby 
the Spirit of God directly testifies to their spirit that they 
are children of God. And it is not questioned whether 



108 



WESLEY AX A < 



•OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



there is a testimony of the Spirit, but whether there is any 
direct testimony. Whether there is any other than that 
which arises from a consciousness of the fruit of the 
Spirit. "We believe there is : because this is the plain 
natural meaning of the text, illustrated both by the pre- 
ceding words, and by the parallel passage in the Epistle 
to the Galatians : because, in the nature of the thing the 
testimony must precede the fruit which springs from it ; 
and. because this plain meaning of the word of God is 
confirmed by the experience of innumerable children of 
God ; yea. and by the experience of all who are convinced 
of sin, who can never rest till they have a direct witness ; 
and even of the children of the world, who, not having 
the witness in themselves, one and all declare none can 
know his sins forgiven. 

And whereas it is objected. That experience is not suf- 
ficient to prove a doctrine unsupported by Scripture — that 
madmen and enthusiast? of every kind have imagined such 
a witness : — that the design of that witness is to prove our 
profession genuine, which design it does not answer ; — 
that the Scripture says, " The tree is known by its fruit 
u examine yourselves ; prove your ownselves ; ? ' and, mean- 
time, the direct witness is never referred to in ail the 
book of God ; — that it does not secure us from the greatest 
delusions ; and. lastly, — that the change wrought in us is 
a sufficient testimony, unless in such trials as Christ alone 
suffered. We answer, 1. Experience is sufficient to con- 
firm a doctrine which is grounded on Scripture : 2. 
Though many fancy they experience what they do not, 
this is no prejudice to real experience : 3. The design of 
that witness is, to assure us we are children of God, and 
this design it does answer : 4. The true witness of the 
Spirit is known by its fruit, M love, peace, joy ; ; ' not in- 
deed preceding, but following it : 5. It cannot be proved 
that the direct, as well as the indirect witness, is not re 



WESLEYANA OF THE HOLY GHOST. 109 

ferred to in that very text, " Know ye not your ownselves 
that Jesus Christ is in you ?" 6. The Spirit of God wit- 
nessing with our spirit, does secure us from all delusion : 
And, lastly, we are all liable to trials wherein the testi- 
mony of our own spirit is not sufficient ; wherein nothing 
less than the direct testimony of God's Spirit can assure 
us that we are his children. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 99, 100. 

SECTION II. 
Is grieved by Sin. 

We are said to grieve the Holy Spirit by our sins, be- 
cause of his immediate presence with us. They are more 
directly committed under his eye, and are therefore more 
highly offensive to him. He is pleased to look upon pro- 
fessing Christians as more peculiarly separated to his 
honour ; nay, we are so closely united to him that we are 
said to be " one spirit with him :" and therefore every sin 
which we now commit, besides its own proper guilt, car- 
ries in it a fresh and infinitely high provocation. " Know 
ye not your ownselves," saith St. Paul, " that your bodies 
are the temples of the Holy Ghost ?" And how are they 
so but by his inhabitation and intimate presence with our 
souls ? When therefore we set up the idols of earthly 
inclinations in our hearts, (which are properly his altar,) 
and bow down ourselves to serve those vicious passions 
which we ought to sacrifice to his will, this must needs 
be, in the highest degree, offensive and grievous to him. 
" For what concord is there between" the Holy Spirit 
" and Belial, or what agreement hath the temple of God 
with idols ?" 

We grieve the Holy Spirit by our sins, because they 
are so many contempts of the highest expression of his 
love, and disappoint him in his last remedy whereby he is 
pleased to endeavour our recovery. And thus every sin 



110 



WESLEYANA — OF THE HOLY GHOST- 



we now commit is done in despite of all his powerful 
assistances, in defiance of his reproofs : an ungrateful 
return for infinite loving kindness ! 

As the Holy Spirit is the immediate minister of God's 
will upon earth, and transacts all the great affairs of the 
church of Christ ; if while he pours out the riches of his 
grace upon us, he finds them all unsuccessful, no wonder 
if he appeal to all the world, in the words of the prophet, 
against our ingratitude : " And now, O ye men of Judah, 
judge between me and my vineyard. What could have 
been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in 
it? "Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth 
grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ?" These, and many 
more such which we meet with in the Holy Scriptures, 
are the highest expressions of the deepest concern ; such 
as imply the utmost unwillingness to deal severely, even 
with those whom yet, by all the wise methods of his grace, 
he could not reform. The Holy Spirit here represents 
himself as one who would be glad to spare sinners if he 
could ; and therefore we maybe sure it is grievous to him 
that by their sins they will not suffer him. 

For men thus to disappoint the Holy Spirit of love, for 
that too is his peculiar title ; to make him thus wait that 
he may be gracious, and pay attendance on us through 
our whole course of folly and vanity, and to stand by and 
be a witness of our stubbornness, with the importunate 
offers of infinite kindness in his hands, is a practice of 
such a nature that no gracious mind can bear the thoughts 
of it. It is an argument of God's unbounded mercy, that 
he is pleased to express that he is only grieved at it ; that 
his indignation does not flame out against those who are 
thus basely ungrateful, and consume them in a moment. 
Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 515,516. 



WESLEYANA — OF THE HOLY GHOST. Ill 

SECTION III. 
The efficient Cause of Holiness. 

There can be no point of greater importance to him 
who knows that it is the Holy Spirit which leads us into 
all truth and into all holiness, than to consider with what 
temper of soul we are to entertain his divine presence, so 
as not either to drive him from us, or to disappoint him 
of the gracious ends for which his abode with us is de- 
signed ; which is not the amusement of our understand- 
ing, but the conversion and entire sanctirlcation of our 
hearts and lives. 

These words of the apostle contain a most serious and 
affectionate exhortation to this purpose. " Grieve not the 
Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day 
of redemption." 

The title " Holy," applied to the Spirit of God, does not 
only denote that he is holy in his own nature, but that he 
makes us so : that he is the great fountain of holiness to 
his church; the Spirit from whence flows all the grace 
and virtue by which the stains of guilt are cleansed, and 
we are renewed in all holy dispositions, and again bear 
the image of our Creator. Great reason, therefore, there 
was for the apostle to give this solemn charge concerning 
it, and the highest obligation lies upon us all to consider 
it with the deepest attention. — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 514. 



I 12 WESLEYANA — OF THE DIVINE LAW, 



CHAPTER VI. 

OF THE DIVINE LAW. 

SECTION I. 
Its Nature. 

Now this law is an incorruptible picture of the High 
and Holy One that inhabiteth eternity. He is he wht> 5 
in his essence, no man hath seen or can see, made visible 
to men and angels. It is the face of God unveiled ; God 
manifested to his creatures as they are able to bear it ; 
manifested to give, and not to destroy life — that they may 
see God and live. It is the heart of God disclosed to man. 
Yea, in some sense, we may apply to this law what the 
apostle says of his Son, it is airavya&fia r-qg doZrjg' mi x a P aK - 
T7]p rrig vTrog-aaeQg avrs, the streaming forth [or outbeaming] 
of his glory, the express image of his person. 

u If virtue," said the ancient heathen, " could assume 
such a shape as that we could behold her with our eyes, 
what wonderful love would she excite in us !" If virtue 
could do this ! It is done already. The law of God is 
all virtues in one, in such a shape as to be beheld with 
open face by all those whose eyes God hath enlightened. 
What is the law but divine virtue and wisdom assuming a 
visible form ? What is it but the original ideas of truth 
and good, which were lodged in the uncreated mind from 
eternity, now drawn forth and clothed with such a vehicle 
as to appear even to human understanding ? 

If we survey the law of God in another point of view, 
it is supreme, unchangeable reason ; it is unalterable rec- 
titude ; it is the everlasting fitness of all things that are or 
ever were created. I am sensible what a shortness, and 
even impropriety, there is in these and all other human 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 113 

expressions, when we endeavour by these faint pictures 
to shadow out the deep things of God. Nevertheless, we 
have no better, indeed no other way, during this our infant 
state of existence. As we now know but " in part," so 
we are constrained to " prophesy," that is, speak of the 
things of God " in part" also. " We cannot order our 
speech by reason of darkness," while we are in this house 
of clay. While I am a child, I must " speak as a child :" 
but I shall soon put away childish things : for " when 
that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall 
be done away." 

But to return. The law of God (speaking after the 
manner of men) is a copy of the Eternal Mind, a tran- 
script of the Divine Nature : yea, it is the fairest offspring 
of the Everlasting Father, the brightest efflux of his essen- 
tial wisdom, the visible beauty of the Most High. It is the 
delight and wonder of cherubim and seraphim, and all the 
company of heaven, and the glory and joy of every wise 
believer, every well instructed child of God upon earth. 
Sermons, vol. i, pp. 309, 310. 

SECTION II. 
Its Properties. 

Such is the nature of the ever blessed law of God. I 
am, in the third place, to show the properties of it : not 
all ; for that would exceed the wisdom of an angel ; but 
those only which are mentioned in the text. These are 
three : it is holy, just, and good. And first, the law is 
holy. 

In this expression the apostle does not appear to speak 
of its effects, but rather of its nature : as St. James, speak- 
ing of the same thing under another name, says, " The 
wisdom from above," (which is no other than this law, 



114 WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW, 

written in our heart,) "is first pure," chap, iii, 17, ayv^ 
chaste, spotless ; eternally and essentially holy. And con- 
sequently when it is transcribed into the life, as well as 
the soul, it is, (as the same apostle terms it, chap, i, 27,) 
-d-prjcKeia na-dapa tcai aiiiavroc, pure religion, and undefiled ; or, 
the pure, clean, unpolluted worship of God. 

It is, indeed, in the highest degree, pure, chaste, clean, 
holy. Otherwise it could not be the immediate offspring, 
and much less the express resemblance, of God, who is 
essential holiness. It is pure from all sin, clean and -un- 
spotted from any touch of evil. It is a chaste virgin, 
incapable of any defilement, of any mixture with that 
which is unclean or unholy. It has no fellowship with 
„ sin of any kind : for ' f what communion hath light with 
darkness ?" As sin is, in its very nature, enmity to God, 
so his law is enmity to sin. 

Therefore it is that the apostle rejects, with such abhor- 
rence, that blasphemous supposition that the law of God 
is either sin itself, or the cause of sin. God forbid that 
we should suppose that it is the cause of sin, because it 
is the discoverer of it ; because it detects the hidden 
things of darkness, and drags them out into open day. It 
is true, by this means, as the apostle observes, ver. 13, 
" sin appears to be sin." All its disguises are torn away, and 
it appears in its native deformity. It is true likewise that 
" sin, by the commandment, becomes exceeding sinful 
being now committed against light and knowledge, being 
stripped even of the poor plea of ignorance, it loses its 
excuse, as well as disguise, and becomes far more odious 
both to God and man. Yea, and it is true, that " sin 
worketh death by that which is good which in itself is 
pure and holy. When it is dragged out to light it rages 
the more : when it is restrained it bursts out with greater 
violence. Thus the apostle speaking in the person of one 
who was convinced of sin, but not yet delivered from it 3 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 115 

66 Sin, taking occasion by the commandment," detecting 
and endeavouring to restrain it, disdained the restraint, 
and so much the more " wrought in me all manner of con- 
cupiscence," ver. 8, all manner of foolish and hurtful de- 
sire, which that commandment sought to restrain. Thus, 
"when the commandment came, sin revived," ver. 9, it 
fretted and raged the more. But this is no stain on the 
commandment. Though it is abused, it cannot be defiled. 
This only proves that " the heart of man is desperately 
wicked." But the law of God is holy still. 

And it is, secondly, just. It renders to all their due. 
It prescribes exactly what is right, precisely what ought 
to be done, said, or thought, both with regard to the Au- 
thor of our being, with regard to ourselves, and with 
regard to every creature which he has made. It is 
adapted, in all respects, to the nature of things, of the 
whole universe, and of every individual. It is suited to 
all the circumstances of each, and to all their mutual 
relations, whether such as have existed from the begin- 
ning, or such as commenced in any following period. It 
is exactly agreeable to the fitness of things, whether 
essential or accidental. It clashes with none of these 
in any degree, nor is ever unconnected with them. If the 
word be taken in that sense, there is nothing arbitrary in 
the law of God. Although still the whole and every part 
thereof is totally dependant upon his will ; so that " Thy 
will be done," is the supreme, universal law, both in earth 
and heaven. 

" But is the will of God the cause of his law? Is his 
will the original of right and wrong ? Is a thing therefore 
right because God wills it — or does he will it because it 
is right ? 

I fear this celebrated question is more curious than 
useful. And perhaps in the manner it is usually treated 
of, it does not so well consist with the regard that is due 



116 WES LEY AX A OF THE DIVINE LAW. 

from a creature to the Creator and Governor of all things. 
It is hardly decent for man to call the supreme God to give 
an account to him ; nevertheless, with awe and reverence 
we may speak a little : the Lord pardon us if we speak 
amiss ! 

It seems then that the whole difficulty arises from con- 
sidering God's will as distinct from God: otherwise it 
vanishes away. For none can doubt but God is the cause 
of the law of God : but the will of God is God himself. 
It is God considered as willing thus or thus. Conse- 
quently to say that the will of God, or that God himself, is 
the cause of the law, is one and the same thing. 

Again : if the law, the immutable rule of right and 
wrong, depends on the nature and fitness of things, and 
on their essential relations to each other ; (I do not say 
their eternal relations, because the eternal relation of 
things existing in time is little less than a contradiction ;) 
if, I say, this depends on the nature and relations of things, 
then it must depend on God, or the will of God ; because 
those things themselves, with all their relations, are the 
works of his hands. By his will, " for his pleasure" alone 
they all " are and were created." 

And yet it may be granted, (which is probably all that 
a considerate person would contend for,) that in every 
particular case God wills this or this, (suppose that men 
should honour their parents,) because it is right, agreeable 
to the fitness of things, to the relation wherein they stand. 

The law then is right and just concerning all things. 
And it is good as well as just. This we may easily infer 
from the fountain whence it flowed. For what was this 
but the goodness of God ? What but goodness alone in- 
clined him to impart that divine copy of himself to the holy 
angels ? To what else can we impute his bestowing upon 
man the same transcript of his own nature ? And what 
but tender love constrained him afresh to manifest his will 



WESLEY ANA- — OF THE DIVINE LAW. 117 

to fallen man — either to Adam, or any of his seed, who, 
like him, were " come short of the glory of God 1" Was 
it not mere love that moved him to publish his law, after 
the understandings of men were darkened ? And to send 
his prophets to declare that law, to the blind, thoughtless 
children of men? Doubtless his goodness it was which 
raised up Enoch and Noah to be preachers of righteous- 
ness ; which caused Abraham, his friend, and Isaac, and 
Jacob, to bear witness to his truth. It was his goodness 
alone which, when " darkness had covered the earth, and 
thick darkness the people," gave a written law to Moses, 
and through him to the nation whom he had chosen. It 
was love which explained these living oracles by David 
and all the prophets that followed ; until, when the fulness 
of time was come, he sent his only begotten Son, " not to 
destroy the law, but to fulfil," confirm every jot and tittle 
thereof ; till, having wrote it in the hearts of all his chil- 
dren, and put all his enemies under his feet, " he shall 
deliver up [his mediatorial] kingdom to the Father, that 
God may be all in all." 

And this law, which the goodness of God gave at first, 
and has preserved through all ages, is, like the fountain 
from whence it springs, full of goodness and benignity ; 
it is mild and kind ; it is, as the psalmist expresses it, 
" sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." It is winning 
and amiable. It includes " whatsoever things are lovely 
or of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any 
praise," before God and his holy angels, they are all com- 
prised in this ; wherein are hid all the treasures of the 
divine wisdom, and knowledge, and love. 

And it is good in its effects, as well as in its nature. As 
the tree is, so are its fruits. The fruits of the law of God, 
written in the heart, are " righteousness, and peace, and 
assurance for ever." Or rather, the law itself is right- 
eousness, filling the soul with a peace that passeth all 



118 WESLEY AN A — OF THE DIVINE LAW. 

understanding, and causing us to rejoice evermore in the 
testimony of a good conscience toward God. It is not so 
properly a pledge, as " an earnest of our inheritance," 
being a part of the purchased possession. It is God made 
manifest in our flesh, and bringing with him eternal life ; 
assuring us, by that pure and perfect love, that we are 
" sealed unto the day of redemption that he will " spare 
us as a man spareth his own son that serveth him," " in 
that day when he maketh up his jewels ;" and that there 
remaineth for us " a crown of glory which fadeth 'not 
away." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 310-312. 

SECTION III. 
Its Requisitions, 

" The righteousness which is of the law saith, The man 
which doeth these things shall live by them." Constantly 
and perfectly observe all these things to do them, and then 
thou shalt live for ever. This law or covenant, (usually 
called the Covenant of Works,) given by God to man in 
paradise, required an obedience perfect in all its parts, 
entire, and wanting nothing, as the condition of his eternal 
continuance in the holiness and happiness wherein he was 
created. 

It required that man should fulfil all righteousness, in- 
ward and outward, negative and positive : that he should 
not only abstain from every idle word, and avoid every 
evil work, but should keep every affection, every desire, 
every thought, in obedience to the will of God : that he 
should continue holy, as He which had created him was 
holy, both in heart and in all manner of conversation : 
that he should be pure in heart, even as God is pure : per- 
fect, as his Father in heaven was perfect : that he should 
love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul, 
with all his mind, and with all his strength : that he should 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 119 

love every soul which God had made, even as God had 
loved him : that by this universal benevolence he should 
dwell in God, (who is love,) and God in him : that he 
should serve the Lord his God with all his strength, and 
in all things singly aim at his glory. 

These were the things which the righteousness of the 
law required, that he who did them might live thereby. 
But it further required that this entire obedience to God, 
this inward and outward holiness, this conformity both of 
heart and life to his will, should be perfect in degree. No 
abatement, no allowance could possibly be made, for fall- 
ing short in any degree, as to any jot or tittle, either of 
the outward or the inward law. If every commandment 
relating to outward things was obeyed, yet that was not 
sufficient, unless every one was obeyed with all the 
strength, in the highest measure, and most perfect man- 
ner. Nor did it answer the demand of this covenant to 
love God with every power and faculty, unless he were 
loved with the full capacity of each, with the whole pos- 
sibility of the soul. 

One thing more was indispensably required by the 
righteousness of the law, namely, that this universal obe- 
dience, this perfect holiness both of heart and life, should be 
perfectly uninterrupted also ; should continue without any 
intermission, from the moment wherein God created man 
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, until the 
days of his trial should be ended, and he should be con- 
firmed in life everlasting. 

The righteousness then which is of the law speaketh 
on this wise : " Thou, O man of God, stand fast in love, in 
the image of God wherein thou art made. If thou wilt 
remain in life, keep the commandments which are now 
written in thy heart. Love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart. Love, as thyself, every soul that he hath made. 
Desire nothing but God. Aim at God in every thought, 



120 WES LEY AX A — OF THE DIVINE LAW. 

in every word and work. Swerve not, in one motion of 
body or soul, from him, thy mark, and the prize of thy 
high calling. And let all that is in thee praise his holy 
name, every power and faculty of thy soul, in every kind, 
in every degree, and at every moment of thy existence. 
' This do, and thou shalt live ;' thy light shall shine, thy 
love shall flame more and more, till thou art received up 
into the house of God in the heaven, to reign with him for 
ever and ever." — Sermons, vol. i, p. 54, 

SECTION IV. 
Its Uses. 

The first use of the law, without question, is, to con- 
vince the world of sin. This is indeed the peculiar work 
of the Holy Ghost ; who can work it without any means 
at all, or by whatever means it pleaseth him, however in- 
sufficient in themselves, or even improper to produce such 
an effect. And accordingly some there are whose hearts 
have been broken in pieces in a moment, either in sickness 
or in health, without any visible cause, or any outward 
means whatever ; and others (one in an age) have been 
awakened to a sense of the " wrath of God abiding on 
them" by hearing that " God was in Christ reconciling 
the world unto himself. 55 But it is the ordinary method 
of the Spirit of God to convict sinners by the law. It is 
this which, being set home on the conscience, generally 
breaketh the rock in pieces. It is more especially this 
part of the word of God which is &v na$ evepyrjg, quick and 
pov:erfuL full of life and energy. " and sharper than any 
twoe-dged sword." This, in the hand of God and of those 
whom he hath sent, pierces through all the folds of a de- 
ceitful heart, and " divides asunder even the soul and the 
spirit;" yea, as it were, the very " joints and marrow." 
By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 121 

leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is " wretched, 
and poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked." The law 
flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a 
mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His " mouth is 
stopped," and he stands " guilty before God." 

To slay the sinner is then the first use of the law ; to 
destroy the life and strength wherein he trusts, and con- 
vince him that he is dead while he liveth : not only under 
the sentence of death, but actually dead unto God, void 
of all spiritual life, " dead in trespasses and sins." The 
second use of it is, to bring him unto life, — unto Christ, 
that he may live. It is true, in performing both these 
offices it acts the part of a severe school-master. It drives 
us by force, rather than draws us by love. And yet love 
is the spring of all. It is the spirit of love which, by this 
painful means, tears away our confidence in the flesh, 
which leaves us no broken reed whereon to trust, and so 
constrains the sinner, stripped of all, to cry out in the 
bitterness of his soul, or groan in the depth of his heart, 

" I give up every plea beside, 
Lord, I am damn'd ; but thou hast died." 

The third use of the law is to keep us alive. It is the 
grand means whereby the blessed Spirit prepares the be- 
liever for larger communications of the life of God. 

I am afraid this great and important truth is little under- 
stood not only by the world, but even by many whom God 
hath taken out of the world, who are real children of God 
by faith. Many of these lay it down as an unquestioned 
truth, that when we come to Christ we have done with the 
law ; and that in this sense " Christ is the end of the law 
to every one that belie veth." " The end of the law :" — 
so he is " for righteousness," for justification, " to every 
one that believeth." Herein the law is at an end. It 
justifies none, but only brings them to Christ ; who is also, 

6 



122 



WESLEYANA-— OF THE DIVINE LAW, 



in another respect, the end, or scope of the law, the point 
at which it continually aims. But when it has brought 
us to him, it has yet a farther office, namely, to keep us 
with him. For it is continually exciting all believers, the 
more they see of its height, and depth, and length, and 
breadth, to exhort one another so much the more, 

*' Closer and closer let us cleave 
To his beloved embrace ; 
Expect his fulness to receive, 
And grace to answer grace." 

Allowing then that every believer has done with the 
law, as it means the Jewish ceremonial law, or the entire 
Mosaic dispensation ; (for these Christ hath taken out of 
the way ;) yea, allowing we have done with the moral law 
as a means of procuring our justification ; for we are ''jus- 
tified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in 
Jesus ;" yet, in another sense, we have not done with this 
law: for it is still of unspeakable use, first, in convincing 
us of the sin that yet remains both in our hearts and lives, 
and thereby keeping us close to Christ, that his blood may 
cleanse us every moment ; secondly, in deriving strength 
from our Head into his living members, whereby he empow- 
ers them to do what his law commands ; and thirdly, in 
confirming our hope of whatsoever it commands and we 
have not yet attained, — of receiving grace upon grace, till 
we are in actual possession of the fulness of his promises. 

How clearly does this agree with the experience of 
everv true believer ! While he cries out, " what love 
have I unto thy law ! all the day long is my study in it ;" 
he sees daily, in that divine mirror, more and more of his 
own sinfulness. He sees more and more clearly, that he 
is still a sinner in all tilings, — that neither his heart nor 
his ways are right before God ; and that every moment 
sends him to Christ. This shows him the meaning of 
what is written, " Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 123 

and grave upon it, Holiness to the Lord. And it shall be 
upon Aaron's forehead," [the type of our great High Priest,] 
" that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which 
the children of Israel shall hallow, in all their holy gifts 
[so far are our prayers or holy things from atoning for the 
rest of our sin !] " And it shall be always upon his fore- 
head, that they may be accepted before the Lord," Exod. 
xxviii, 36, 38. 

To explain this by a single instance : the law says, 
" Thou shalt not kill ;" and hereby, (as our Lord teaches,) 
forbids not only outward acts, but every unkind word or 
thought. Now the more I look into this perfect law, the 
more I feel how far I come short of it ; and the more I 
feel this, the more I feel the need of his blood to atone 
for all my sin, and of his Spirit to purify my heart, and 
make me " perfect and entire, lacking nothing." 

Therefore I cannot spare the law one moment, no more 
than I can spare Christ: seeing now I want it as much, 
to keep me to Christ, as I ever wanted it to bring me to 
him. Otherwise this "evil heart of unbelief" would im- 
mediately " depart from the living God." Indeed each is 
continually sending me to the other, — the law to Christ, 
and Christ to the law. On the one hand, the height and 
depth of the law constrain me to fly to the love of God in 
Christ ; on the other, the love of God in Christ endears 
the law to me " above gold or precious stones ;" seeing I 
know every part of it is a gracious promise which my 
Lord will fulfil in its season. 

Who art thou, then, O man, that " judgest the law, and 
speakest evil of the law !" That rankest it with sin, Sa- 
tan, and death, and sendest them all to hell together ? 
The Apostle James esteemed judging or " speaking evil 
of the law," so enormous a piece of wickedness that he 
knew not how to aggravate the guilt of judging our brethren 
more than by showing it included this. " So now," says 



124 WESLEYAXA — OF THE DIVINE LAW. 

he, M thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge V A 
judge of that which God hath ordained to judge thee ! So 
thou hast set up thyself in the judgment seat of Christ, 
and cast down the rule whereby he will judge the world ! 
O take knowledge what advantage Satan hath gained over 
thee ; and, for the time to come, never think or speak 
lightly of, much less dress up as a scarecrow, this blessed 
instrument of the grace of God ! Yea, love and value it 
for the sake of Him from whom it came, and of Him to 
whom it leads. Let it be thy glory and joy, next to the 
cross of Christ. Declare its praise, and make it honour- 
able before all men. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 312-314. 

SECTION V. 
/ Its Connection with the Gospel. 

From all this we may learn that there is no contrariety 
at all between the law and the gospel ; that there is no 
need for the law to pass away in order to the establishing 
the gospel. Indeed neither of them supersedes the other, 
but they agree perfectly well together. Yea, the very 
same words, considered in different respects, are parts 
both of the law and of the gospel : if they are considered 
as commandments, they are parts of the law ; if as pro- 
mises, of the gospel. Thus, " Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart,'' when considered as a com- 
mandment, is a branch of the law ; when regarded as a 
promise, is an essential part of the gospel; the gospel be- 
ing no other than the commands of the law proposed by 
way of promise. Accordingly, poverty of spirit, purity 
of heart, and whatever else is enjoined in the holy law of 
God, are no other, when viewed in a gospel light, than so 
many great and precious promises. 

There is, therefore, the closest connection that can be 
conceived between the law and the gospel, On the one 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 125 

hand, the law continually makes way for, and points us to, 
the gospel ; on the other, the gospel continually leads us 
to a more exact fulfilling of the law. The law, for in- 
stance, requires us to love God, to love our neighbour, to 
be meek, humble, or holy : we feel that we are not suffi- 
cient for these things ; yea, that " with man this is im- 
possible." But we see a promise of God to give us that 
love, and to make us humble, meek, and holy : we lay 
hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings ; it is done unto 
us according to our faith ; and " the righteousness of the 
law is fulfilled in us," through faith which is in Christ 
Jesus. 

We may yet further observe, that every command in 
Holy Writ is only a covered promise. For by that solemn 
declaration, " This is the covenant I will make after those 
days, saith the Lord : I will put my laws in your minds, 
and write them in your hearts — God hath engaged to 
give whatsoever he commands. Does he command us 
then to " pray without ceasing," to " rejoice evermore," 
to be " holy as he is holy?" It is enough : he will work 
in us this very thing. It shall be unto us according to his 
word. — Sermons, vol. i, p. 223. 

SECTION VI. i 
Confirmed and perpetuated by Christ. 

The moral law, contained in the ten commandments, 
and enforced by the prophets, Christ did not take away. 
It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part 
of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which 
" stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven." The moral 
stands on an entirely different foundation from the cere- 
monial or ritual law, which was only designed for a tem- 
porary restraint upon a disobedient and stiff-necked people ; 
whereas this was from the beginning of the world, being 



126 WESLEVANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 

<£ written, not on tables of stone/"' but on the hearts of all 
the children of men, when they came out of the hands 
of the Creator. And, however the letters once wrote by 
the finger of God are now in a great measure defaced by 
sin, yet can they not wholly be blotted out, while we have 
any consciousness of good and evil. Every part of this 
law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all 
ages ; as not depending either on time or place, or any 
other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of 
God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable rela- 
tion to each other. 

" I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Some have 
conceived our Lord to mean — I am come to fulfil this, by 
my entire and perfect obedience to it. And it cannot be 
doubted but he did, in this sense, fulfil every part of it. 
But this does not appear to be what he intends here, being 
foreign to the scope of his present discourse. Without 
question, his meaning in this place is, (consistently with 
all that goes before and follows after.) I am come to estab- 
lish it in its fulness, in spite of all the glosses of men : I 
am come to place in a full and clear view whatsoever was 
dark or obscure therein: I am come to declare the true 
and full import of every part of it ; to show the length 
and breadth, the entire extent, of every commandment con- 
tained therein, and the height and depth, the inconceiva- 
ble purity and spirituality of it in all its branches. 

And this our Lord has abundantly performed in the 
preceding and subsequent part of the discourse before us ; 
in which he has not introduced a new religion into the 
world, but the same which was from the beginning ; — a 
religion, the substance of which is, without question, as 
old as the creation, being coeval with man, and having 
proceeded from God at the very time when "man be- 
came a living soul f (the substance, I say ; for some 
circumstances of it now relate to man as a fallen crea- 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 127 

ture ;) — a religion witnessed to, both by the law and by 
the prophets, in all succeeding generations. Yet was 
it never so fully explained, nor so thoroughly understood, 
till the great Author of it himself condescended to give 
mankind this authentic comment on all the essential 
branches of it ; at the same time declaring it should never 
be changed, but remain in force to the end of the world. 

<£ For verily I say unto you," (a solemn preface which 
denotes both the importance and certainty of what is 
spoken,) " till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." 

" One jot :" it is literally not one iota, not the most in- 
considerable vowel : " or one tittle," juia nepaia, one corner 
or point of a consonant. It is a proverbial expression, 
which signifies that no one commandment contained in 
the moral law, nor the least part of any one, however 
inconsiderable it might seem, should ever be disannulled. 

" Shall in no wise pass from the law :" a \in napeh&y ano 
th vo/18. The double negative here used strengthens the 
sense, so as to admit of no contradiction ; and the word 
TrapeMy, it may be observed, is not barely future, declaring 
what will be ; but has likewise the force of an imperative, 
ordering what shall be. It is a word of authority, express- 
ing the sovereign will and power of Him that spake ; of 
him whose word is the law of heaven and earth, and stands 
fast for ever and ever. 

" One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass, till heaven 
and earth pass ;" or, as it is expressed immediately after, 
eoyg av Travra yevrjTai, till all (or rather all things) be fulfilled, 
till the consummation of all things. Here is therefore no 
room for that poor evasion, (with which some have de- 
lighted themselves greatly,) that " no part of the law was 
to pass away, till all the law was fulfilled : but it has been 
fulfilled by Christ ; and therefore now must pass for the gos- 
pel to be established." Not so : the word all does not mean 



128 WE SL E VAX A — OF THE DIVINE LAW, 

all the law. but all things in the universe ; as neither has 
the term fulfilled any reference to the law, but to all things 
in heaven and earth, — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 221-223. 

SECTION VII. 
Established by Faith. 

How may we establish the law in our own hearts, so 
that it may have its full influence on our lives ? This can 
only be done by faith. 

Faith alone it is which effectually answers this end, as 
we learn from daily experience. For so long as we walk 
by faith, not by sight, we go swiftly on in the way of holi- 
ness. While we steadily look, not at the things which 
are seen, but at those which are not seen, we are more 
and more crucified to the world, and the world crucified to 
us. Let but the eye of the soul be constantly fixed, not 
on the things which are temporal, but on those which are 
eternal, and our affections are more and more loosened 
from earth, and fixed on things above. So that faith, in 
general, is the most direct and effectual means of promot- 
ing all righteousness and true holiness ; of establishing 
the holy and spiritual law in the hearts of them that be- 
lieve. 

And by faith, taken in its more particular meaning foi a 
confidence in a pardoning God, we establish his law in our 
own hearts in a still more effectual manner. For there is 
no motive which so powerfully inclines us to love God, as 
the sense of the love of God in Christ. Nothing enables 
us, like a piercing conviction of this, to give our hearts to 
Him who was given for us. And from this principle of 
grateful love to God arises love to our brother also. Nei- 
ther can we avoid loving our neighbour, if we truly believe 
the love wherewith God hath loved us. Now this love to 
man, grounded on faith and love to God, " worketh no ill 



WESLEYANA OF THE DIVINE LAW. 



129 



to [our] neighbour :" consequently it is, as the apostle 
observes, " the fulfilling of the [whole negative] law." 
" For this, thou shalt not commit adultery ; thou shalt 
not kill ; thou shalt not steal ; thou shalt not bear false 
witness ; thou shalt not covet ; and if there be any other 
commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this say- 
ing, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Nei- 
ther is love content with barely working no evil to our 
neighbour. It continually incites us to do good, as we 
have time and opportunity ; to do good in every possible 
kind, and in every possible degree, to all men. It is 
therefore the fulfilling of the positive likewise, as well as 
of the negative law of God. 

Nor does faith fulfil either the negative or positive law 
as to the external part only ; but it works inwardly by love, 
to the purifying of the heart, the cleansing it from all vile 
affections. Every one that hath this faith in himself " puri- 
fieth himself even as He is pure :" purifieth himself from 
every earthly, sensual desire ; from all vile and inordinate 
affections ; yea, from the whole of that carnal mind which 
is enmity against God. At the same time, if it have its 
perfect work, it fills him with all goodness, righteousness, 
and truth. It brings all heaven into his soul, and causes 
him to walk in the light, even as God is in the light. 

Let us thus endeavour to establish the law in ourselves ; 
not sinning " because we are under grace," but rather 
using all the power we receive thereby " to fulfil all right- 
eousness." Calling to mind what light we received from 
God while his Spirit was convincing us of sin, let us be- 
ware we do not put out that light; what we had then 
attained let us hold fast. Let nothing induce us to build 
again what we have destroyed ; to resume any thing, small 
or great, which we then clearly saw was not for the glory 
of God, or the profit of our own soul ; or to neglect any 
thing, small or great, which we could not then neglect 
6* 



130 



WESLEYANA OF MAN. 



without a check from our own conscience. To increase 
and perfect the light which we had before, let us now add 
the light of faith. Confirm we the former gift of God by 
a deeper sense of whatever he had then shown us ; by a 
greater tenderness of conscience, and a more exquisite 
sensibility of sin. Walking now with joy, and not with 
fear, in a clear steady sight of things eternal, we shall 
look on pleasure, wealth, praise, all the things of earth, 
as on bubbles upon the water ; counting nothing important, 
nothing desirable, nothing worth a deliberate thought, But 
only what is " within the veil," where Jesus " sitteth at the 
right hand of God." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 327, 328. 

" We establish the law," both by showing its full ex- 
tent and spiritual meaning, and by calling all to that living 
way whereby " the righteousness of the law may be ful- 
filled in them." These, while they trust in the blood of 
Christ alone, use all the ordinances which he hath ap- 
pointed, do all the " good works which he had before 
prepared that they should walk therein," and enjoy and man- 
ifest all holy and heavenly tempers, even the same mind 
that was in Christ Jesus. — Sermons, vol. i, p. 17. 



CHAPTER VII. 
OF MAN. 
SECTION I. 
His original State. 

" The Lord God [literally, Jehovah, the Gods ; that is, 
One and Three] created man in his own image ;" — in his 
own natural image, as to his better part; that is, a spirit, 
as God is a spirit ; endued with understanding ; which, 
if not the essence, seems to be the most essential pro- 



WESLEYANA OF MAN, 



131 



perty of a spirit. And probably the human spirit, like the 
angelical, then discerned truth by intuition. Hence he 
named every creature, as soon as he saw it, according to 
its inmost nature. Yet his knowledge was limited, as he 
was a creature : ignorance therefore was inseparable from 
him ; but error was not ; it does not appear that he was 
mistaken in anything. But he was capable of mistaking, 
of being deceived, although not necessitated to it. 

He was endued also with a will, with various affections; 
(which are only the will exerting itself various ways ;) 
that he might love, desire, and delight, in that which is 
good : otherwise his understanding had been to no pur- 
pose. He was likewise endued with liberty ; a power of 
choosing what was good, and refusing what was not so. 
Without this both the will and the understanding would 
have been utterly useless. Indeed, without liberty, man 
had been so far from being a free agent, that he could have 
been no agent at all. For every unfree being is purely 
passive ; not active in any degree. Have you a sword in 
your hand ? Does a man, stronger than you, seize your 
hand, and force you to wound a third person 1 In this you 
are no agent, any more than the sword : the hand is as 
passive as the steel. So in every possible case. He that 
is not free, is not an agent, but a patient. 

It seems, therefore, that every spirit in the universe, as 
such, is endued with understanding, and, in consequence, 
with a will, and with a measure of liberty ; and that these 
three are inseparably united in every intelligent nature. 
And observe : liberty necessitated, or overruled, is really no 
liberty at all. It is a contradiction in terms. It is the same 
as unfree freedom ; that is, downright nonsense. 

It may be further observed, (and it is an important ob- 
servation,) that where there is no liberty, there can be no 
moral good or evil ; no virtue nor vice. The fire warms 
us ; yet it is not capable of virtue : it burns us ; yet this 



132 



WESLEYAXA — OF MAX, 



is no vice. There is no virtue, but where an intelligent 
being: knows, loves, raid chooses what is good; nor is 
there any vice, but where such a being knows, loves, and 
chooses what is evil. 

And God created man not only in his natural, but likewise 
in his own moral image. He created him not only " in 
knowledge,*' but also in righteousness and true holiness. 
As his understanding was without blemish, perfect in its 
kind ; so were all his affections. They were all set right, 
and duly exercised on their proper objects. And as a free 
agent, he steadily chose whatever was good, according to 
the direction of his understanding. In so doing he was 
unspeakably happy ; dwelling in God, and God in him ; 
having an uninterrupted fellowship with the Father and 
the Son. through the eternal Spirit, and the continual tes- 
timony of his conscience, that all his ways were good 
and acceptable to God. 

Yet his liberty (as was observed before) necessarily 
included a power of choosing or refusing either good or 
evil. Indeed, it has been doubted whether man could then 
choose evil, knowing it to be such. But it cannot be 
Kted he might mistake evil for good. He was not 
infallible ; therefore not impeccable. And this unravels 
the whole difficulty of the grand question. " Unde malum V 
" How came ewil into the world It came from " Luci- 
fer, son of the morning." It was the work of the devil. 
i: For the devil." saith the apostle, " sinneth from the be- 
ginning f that is, was the first sinner in the universe, the 
hor of sin, the first being who, by the abuse of his 
libertv. introduced evil into the creation. — Sermons, vol. 
ii s pp. 69. TO. 

As God is love, so man dwelling in love, dwelt in God, 
and God in him. God made him to be an " image of his 
own eternity,'* an incorruptible picture of the God of glory. 
He was accordingly pure, as God is pure, from every spot 



WE8LEYANA OF MAN. 133 

of sin. He knew not evil in any kind or degree, but was 
inwardly and outwardly sinless and undefiled. He " loved 
the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his mind, 
and soul, and strength." 

To man thus upright and perfect God gave a perfect 
law, to which he required full and perfect obedience. He 
required full obedience in every point, and this to be per- 
formed without any intermission, from the moment man 
became a living soul till the time of his trial should be 
ended. No allowance was made for any falling short. 
As indeed, there was no need of any ; man being altoge- 
ther equal to the task assigned, and thoroughly furnished 
for every good word and work. 

To the entire law of love which.was written in his heart, 
(against which, perhaps, he could not sin directly,) it 
seemed good to the sovereign wisdom of God to superadd 
one positive law : " Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of the 
tree that groweth in the midst of the garden ;" annexing 
that penalty thereto, " In the day that thou eatest thereof 
thou shalt surely die." 

Such then was the state of man in paradise. By the 
free, unmerited love of God, he was holy and happy : he 
knew, loved, enjoyed God, which is, in substance, life 
everlasting. And in this life of love he was to continue 
for ever, if he continued to obey God in all things ; but, 
if he disobeyed in any, he was to forfeit all. " In that 
day," said God, " thou shalt surely die." — Sermons, vol. 
i, p. 45. 

SECTION II. 
His fallen State. 

Man did disobey God. He " ate of the tree of which 
God commanded him saying, Thou shalt not eat of it." 
And in that day he was condemned by the righteous judg- 



134 WESLEY AN A — OF MAN. 

ment of God. Then also the sentence, whereof he was 
warned before, began to take place upon him. For the 
moment he tasted that fruit he died. His soul died, was 
separated from God ; separate from whom the soul has no 
more life than the body when separate from the soul. His 
body likewise became corruptible and mortal ; so that 
death then took hold on this also. And being already 
dead in spirit, dead to God, dead in sin, he hastened on to 
death everlasting ; to the destruction both of body and soul 
in the fire never to be quenched. 

Thus " by one man sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin. And so death passed upon all men," as 
being contained in him who was the common father and 
representative of us all. Thus, " through the offence of 
one," all are dead, dead to God, dead in sin, dwelling in 
a corruptible, mortal body, shortly to be dissolved, and 
under the sentence of death eternal. For as " by one 
man's disobedience" all " were made sinners ;" so, by that 
offence of one, "judgment came upon all men to condem- 
nation," Rom. v, 12, &c. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 45, 46. 

How exactly does matter of fact, do all things around us, 
even the face of the whole world, agree with this account ! 
Open your eyes ! Look around you ! See darkness that 
may be felt ; see ignorance and error ; see vice in ten 
thousand forms ; see consciousness of guilt, fear, sorrow, 
shame, remorse, covering the face of the earth ! See mi- 
sery, the daughter of sin. See, on every side, sickness 
and pain, inhabitants of every nation under heaven ; driv- 
ing on the poor, helpless sons of men, in every age, to the 
gates of death ! So they have done well nigh from the 
beginning of the world. So they will do till the consum- 
mation of all things. — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 36. 

In Adam all died, all humam kind, all the children of 
men who were then in Adam's loins. The natural conse- 
quence of this is, that every one descended from him 



WESLEYANA OF MAN. 



135 



comes into the world spiritually dead, dead to God, wholly- 
dead in sin ; entirely void of the life of God ; void of the 
image of God, of all that righteousness and holiness 
wherein Adam was created. Instead of this, every man 
born into the world now bears the image of the devil, in 
pride and self-will; the image of the beast, in sensual 
appetites and desires. This, then, is the foundation of the 
new birth, — the entire corruption of our nature. Hence 
it is, that being born in sin, we must be " born again." 
Hence every one that is born of a woman must be born 
of the Spirit of God. — Sermons, vol. i, p. 401. 

The state of a natural man. This the Scripture repre- 
sents as a state of sleep : the voice of God to him is, 
" Awake, thou that sleepest." For his soul is in a deep 
sleep : his spiritual senses are not awake : they discern 
neither spiritual good nor evil. The eyes of his under- 
standing are closed ; they are sealed together, and see not. 
Clouds and darkness continually rest upon them ; for he 
lies in the valley of the shadow of death. Hence, having 
no inlets for the knowledge of spiritual things, all the 
avenues of his soul being shut up, he is in gross, stupid 
ignorance of whatever he is most concerned to know. 
He is utterly ignorant of God, knowing nothing concern- 
ing him as he ought to know. He is totally a stranger to 
the law of God, as to its true, inward, spiritual meaning. 
He has no conception of that evangelical holiness with- 
out which no man shall see the Lord ; nor of the happi- 
ness which they only find whose " life is hid with Christ 
in God." 

And, for this very reason, because he is fast asleep, he 
is, in some sense, at rest ; because he is blind, he is also 
secure : he saith, " Tush, there shall no harm happen 
unto me." The darkness which covers him on every side 
keeps him in a kind of peace ; so far as peace can consist 
with the works of the devil, and with an earthly, devilish 



136 



WESLEY ANA — OF MAX. 



mind. He sees not that he stands on the edge of the pit : 
therefore he fears it not. He cannot tremhle at the dan- 
ger he does not know. He has not understanding enough 
to fear. Why is it that, he is in no dread of God \ Because 
he is totally ignorant of him : if not saying in his heart, 
u There is no God ; ? " or, that i; he sitteth on the circle 
of the heavens, and humbleth not himself to behold the 
things which are done on the earth r yet, satisfying him- 
self as well, to all Epicurean intents and purposes, by 
saying, God is merciful f confounding and swallowing 
up all at once, in that unwieldy idea of mercy, all his holi- 
ness and essential hatred of sin ; all his justice, wisdom, 
and truth. He is in no dread of the vengeance denounced 
against those who obey not the blessed law of God, because 
he understands it not. He imagines the main point is, 
to do thus, to be outwardly blameless ; and sees not that 
it extends to every temper, desire, thought, motion of the 
heart. Or he fancies that the obligation hereto is ceased; 
that Christ came to u destroy the law and the prophets ;" 
to save his people in. not from their sins ; to bring them 
to heaven without holiness : — notwithstanding his own 
words. " Xot one jot or tittle of the law shall pass away 
till all things are fulfilled : v and, " Not every one that 
saith unto me, Lord ! Lord! shall enter into the kingdom 
of heaven ; bur he that doeth the will of my Father which 
is in heaven.'"' 

He is secure, because he is utterly ignorant of himself. 
Hence he talks of "repenting by and by;'* he does not 
indeed exactly know when, but some time or other before 
he dies : taking it for granted that this is quite in his own 
power. For what should hinder his doing it, if he will ? 
If he does but once set a resolution, no fear but he will 
make it good ! 

But this ignorance never so strongly glares as in those 
who are termed men of learning, If a natural man be 



WESLEYANA— OF MAN* 137 

one of these, he can talk at large of his rational faculties, 
of the freedom of his will, and the absolute necessity of 
such freedom, in order to constitute man a moral agent. 
He reads, and argues, and proves to a demonstration, 
that every man may do as he will ; may dispose his own 
heart to evil or good, as it seems best in his own eyes. 
Thus the god of this world spreads a double veil of blind- 
ness over his heart lest, by any means, " the light of the 
glorious gospel of Christ should shine" upon it. 

From the same ignorance of himself and God, there 
may sometimes arise, in the natural man, a kind of joy in 
congratulating himself upon his own wisdom and good- 
ness : and what the world calls joy, he may often possess. 
He may have pleasure in various kinds ; either in grati- 
fying the desires of the flesh, or the desire of the eye, or 
the pride of life ; particularly if he have large posses- 
sions ; if he enjoy an affluent fortune; then he may 
"clothe" himself " in purple and fine linen, and fare sump- 
tuously every day." And so long as he thus doeth well 
unto himself, men will doubtless speak good of him. They 
will say, " He is a happy man." For, indeed, this is the 
sum of worldly happiness ; to dress, and visit, and talk, 
and eat, and drink, and rise up to play. 

It is not surprising, if one in such circumstances as 
these, dosed with the opiates of flattery and sin, should 
imagine, among his other waking dreams, that he walks in 
great liberty. How easily may he persuade himself that 
he is at liberty from all vulgar errors ; and from the prejudice 
of education, judging exactly right, and keeping clear of 
all extremes. " I am free (may he say) from all the enthu- 
siasm of weak and narrow souls ; from superstition, the 
disease of fools and cowards, always righteous overmuch ; 
and from bigotry, continually incident to those who have 
not a free and generous way of thinking." And too sure 
it is, that he is altogether free from the " wisdom which 



138 



WESLEY ANA OF MAX. 



cometh from above," from holiness, from the religion of the 
heart, from the whole mind which was in Christ. 

For all this time he is the servant of sin. He commits 
sin, more or less, day by day. Yet he is not troubled : 
he " is in no bondage," as some speak ; he feels no con- 
demnation. He contents himself, (even though he should 
profess to believe that the Christian revelation is of God.) 
with, " Man is frail. We are all weak. Ever}- man has 
his infirmity.*' Perhaps he quotes Scripture : M Why, does 
not Solomon say, The righteous man falls into sin seven 
times a day ? And, doubtless, they are all hypocrites or 
enthusiasts who pretend to be better than their neigh- 
bours." If, at any time, a serious thought fix upon him, 
he stifles it as soon as possible with, " Why should I fear, 
since God is merciful, and Christ died for sinners ?" Thus 
he remains a willing servant of sin, content with the bond- 
age of corruption ; inwardly and outwardly unholy, and 
satisfied therewith ; not only not conquering sin, but not 
striving to conquer, particularly that sin which doth so 
easily beset him. 

Such is the state of every natural man; whether he be 
a gross, scandalous transgressor, or a more reputable and 
decent sinner, having the form, though not the power of 
godliness. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 76-78. 

SECTION HL 

His Nature and Functions. 

Here is a curious machine, "fearfully and wonderfully 
made." It is a little portion of earth, the particles of 
which cohering, I know not how, lengthen into innumer- 
able fibres, a thousand times finer than hairs. These, 
crossing each other in all directions, are strangely wrought 
into membranes ; and these membranes are as strangely 



WESLEYANA — OF MAN, 



139 



wrought into arteries, veins, nerves, and glands ; all of 
which contain various fluids, constantly circulating through 
the whole machine. 

In order to the continuance of this circulation a consi- 
derable quantity of air is necessary. And this is conti- 
nually taken into the habit by an engine fitted for that very 
purpose. But as a particle of ethereal fire is connected 
with every particle of air, (and a particle of water too,) so 
both air, water, and fire, are received into the lungs toge- 
ther ; where the fire is separated from the air and water, 
both of which are continually thrown out ; while the fire, 
extracted from them, is received into, and mingled with the 
blood. Thus the human body is composed of all the four 
elements, duly proportioned and mixed together : the last 
of which constitutes the vital flame whence flows the ani- 
mal heat. 

Let me consider this yet a little further. Is not the 
primary use of the lungs to administer fire to the body, 
which is continually extracted from the air by that curious 
fire-pump ? By inspiration it takes in the air, water, and fire 
together. In its numerous cells, (commonly called air-ves- 
sels,) it detaches the fire from the air and water. This then 
mixes with the blood, as every air-vessel has a blood-vessel 
connected with it : and as soon as the fire is extracted from 
it the air and water are thrown out by expiration. 

Without this spring of life, this vital fire, there could 
be no circulation of the blood : consequently no motion 
of any of the fluids ; of the nervous fluid in particular : 
(if it be not rather, as is highly probable, this very fire we 
are speaking of.) Therefore there could not be any sen- 
sation, nor any muscular motion. I say there could be 
no circulation ; for the cause usually assigned for this, 
namely, the force of the heart, is altogether inadequate to 
the supposed effect. No one supposes the force of the 
heart, in a strong man, to be more than equal to the weight 



140 



WESLEY AN A 4 — OF MAN. 



of three thousand pounds ; whereas it would require a 
force equal to the weight of a hundred thousand pounds 
to propel the blood from the heart through all the arteries. 
This can only be effected by the ethereal fire contained in 
the blood itself, assisted by the elastic force of the arteries 
through which it circulates. 

But beside this strange compound of the four elements, 
earth, water, air, and fire ; I find something in me of quite 
a different nature, nothing akin to any of these. I find 
something in me that thinks ; which neither earth, water, 
air, fire, nor any mixture of them, can possibly do : some- 
thing which sees, and hears, and smells, and tastes, and 
feels ; all which are so many modes of thinking. It goes 
further: having perceived objects by any of these senses, 
it forms inward ideas of them. It judges concerning them; 
it sees whether they agree or disagree with each other. 
It reasons concerning them ; that is, infers one proposition 
from another. It reflects upon its own operations ; it is 
endued with imagination and memory; and any of its 
operations, judgment in particular, may be subdivided into 
many others. 

But by what means shall I learn in what part of my body 
this thinking principle is lodged? Some eminent men 
have affirmed, that it is " all in all, and all in every part." 
But I learn nothing from this : they seem to be words that 
have no determinate meaning. Let us then appeal, in the 
best manner we can, to our own experience. From this 
I learn that this thinking principle is not lodged in my 
hands, or feet, or legs, or arms. It is not lodged in the 
trunk of my body. Any one may be assured of this by a 
little reflection. I cannot conceive that it is situated in 
my bones, or in any part of my flesh. So far as I can 
judge, it seems to be situated in some part of my head ; 
but whether in the pineal gland, or in any part of the brain, 
I am not able to determine. 



WESLEYANA— OF MAN. 



141 



But further : this inward principle, wherever it is 
lodged, is capable not only of thinking, but likewise of 
love, hatred, joy, sorrow, desire, fear, hope, <fcc, and a 
whole train of other inward emotions, which are com- 
monly called passions or affections. They are styled, by 
a general appellation, the will; and are mixed and diver- 
sified a thousand ways. And they seem to be the only 
spring of action in that inward principle I call the soul. 

But what is my soul 1 It is an important question, and 
not easy to be resolved. 

44 Hear'st thou submissive, but a lowly birth ? 
Some separate particles of finer earth ? 
A plain effect which nature must beget, 
As motion dictates, and as atoms meet V 

I cannot in any wise believe this. My reason recoils at 
it. I cannot reconcile myself to the thought that the soul 
is either earth, water, or fire ; or a composition of all of 
them put together : were it only for this plain reason : 
all these, whether separate or compounded in any possible 
way, are purely pass ive still. None of them has the least 
power of self-motion : none of them can move itself. 
" But (says one) does not that ship move ?" Yes, but not 
of itself ; it is moved by the water on which it swims. 
"But then the water moves." True ; but the water is 
moved by the wind, the current of air. " But the air 
moves." It is moved by the ethereal fire, which is at- 
tached to every particle of it ; and this fire itself is moved 
by the Almighty Spirit, the source of all the motion in the 
universe. But my soul has from him an inward principle 
of motion, whereby it governs at pleasure every part of the 
body. 

It governs every motion of the body ; only with this 
exception, which is a marvellous instance of the wise and 
gracious providence of the great Creator : there are some 



142 



WESLEY AN A OF MAX. 



motions of the body which are absolutely necessary for 
the continuance of life : such as the dilation and con- 
traction of the lungs : the systole and diastole of the 
heart ; the pulsation of the arteries, and the circulation of 
the blood. These are not governed by me at pleasure : 
they do not wait the direction of my will. And it is well 
they do not. It is highly proper that all the vital mo- 
tions should be involuntary ; going on, whether we advert 
to them or not. \Vere it otherwise, grievous inconveni- 
ences might follow, A man might put an end to his own 
life whenever he pleased, by suspending the motion of his 
heart, or of his lungs ; or he might lose his life by mere 
inattention ; by not remembering, not adverting to the 
circulation of his blood. But these vital motions being 
excepted, I direct the motions of my whole body. By a 
single act of rny will, I put my head, eyes, hands, or any 
part of my body into motion : although I no more compre- 
hend how I do this than I can comprehend how the 
" Three that bear record in heaven are Oxe." — Sermons, 
vol. ii, pp. 402-404, 

SECTION IV. 
He is under the Power of Sin. 

Now he truly desires to break loose from sin, and be- 
gins to struggle with it. But though he strive with all 
his might, he cannot conquer: sin is mightier than he. 
He would fain escape ; but he is so fast in prison that he 
cannot get forth. He resolves against sin, but yet sins on : 
he sees the snare, and abhors, and runs into it. So much 
does his boasted reason avail, — only to enhance his guilt, 
and increase his misery ! Such is the freedom of his 
will ; free only to evil ; free to " drink in iniquity like 
water f to wander further and further from the living God, 
and do more " despite to the Spirit of grace." 



WESLEYANA— *0F MAN. 



143 



The more he strives, wishes, labours to be free, the 
more does he feel his chains, the grievous chains of sin, 
wherewith Satan binds and " leads him captive at his 
will :" his servant he is, though he repine ever so much ; 
though he rebel, he cannot prevail. He is still in bondage 
and fear by reason of sin : generally of some outward sin, 
to which he is peculiarly disposed, either by nature, cus- 
tom, or outward circumstances : but always of some in- 
ward sin, some evil temper, or unholy affection. And the 
more he frets against it, the more it prevails ; he may 
bite, but cannot break his chain. Thus he toils without 
end, repenting and sinning, and repenting and sinning 
again, till at length the poor, sinful, helpless wretch is 
even at his wit's end ; and can barely groan, " O wretched 
man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of 
this death ?" 

This whole struggle of one who is under the law, under 
the spirit of fear and bondage, is beautifully described by 
the apostle in the foregoing chapter, (Rom. vii,) speaking 
in the person of an awakened man. " I," saith he, " was 
alive without the law once," ver. 9. I had much life, 
wisdom, strength, and virtue ; so I thought : but " when 
the commandment came, sin revived, and I died :" when 
the commandment, in its spiritual meaning, came to my 
heart, with the power of God, my inbred sin was stirred 
up, fretted, inflamed, and all my virtue died away. " And 
the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to 
be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the command- 
ment, deceived me, and by it slew me," ver. 10, 11 : it 
came upon me unawares ; slew all my hopes ; and plainly 
showed, in the midst of life I was in death. " Wherefore 
the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and 
good," ver. 12 : I no longer lay the blame on this, but on 
the corruption of my own heart. I acknowledge that 
" the law is spiritual : but I am carnal, sold under sin," 



144 



WESLEY AX A — F MAX. 



ver. 14: I now see both the spiritual nature of the law \ 
and my own carnal, devilish heart, sold under sin, totally 
enslaved : (like slaves bought with monev, who were 
absolutely at their master's disposal :) " For that which I 
do I allow not ; for what I would, I do not ; but what I 
hate, that I do," ver. 15 : such is the bondage under which 
I groan ; such the tyranny of my hard master. " To will 
is present with me, but how to perform that which is good 
I find not. For the good that I would, I do not ; but the 
evil which I would not, that I do," ver. 18, 19. "I find a law 
[an inward constraining power] that when I would do 
good, evil is present with me. For I delight in [or con- 
sent to] the law of God, after the inward man," ver. 21, 
22, in my mind : so the apostle explains himself in the 
words that immediately follow : (and so o ecu avdpu-og, the 
inward man. is understood in all other Greek writers :) 
" But I see another law in my members [another con- 
straining power] warring against the law of my mind, or 
inward man, and bringing me into captivity to the law [or 
power] of sin," ver. 23 : dragging me, as it were, at my 
conqueror's chariot wheels, into the very thing which my 
soul abhors. '"0 wretched man that I am! who shall 
deliver me from the body of this death ?" ver. 24. Who 
shall deliver me from this helpless, dying life, from this 
bondage of sin and miser}" ? Till this is done, " I my- 
self" (or rather, that I, avrog eyo, that man I am now per- 
sonating) ; - with the mind," or inward man, " serve the 
law of God ;" my mind, my conscience, is on God's side ; 
" but with my flesh," with my body, " the law of sin," 
ver. 25, being hurried away by a force I cannot resist. 

How lively a portraiture is this of one under the law ! 
One who feels the burden he cannot shake off ; who pants 
after liberty, power, and love, but is in fear and bondage 
still ; until the time that God answers the wretched man ? 
crying out, <; Who shall deliver me" from this bondage of 



WESLEYANA* — OF MAN, 



145 



sin, from this body of death ? — " The grace of God, through 
Jesus Christ thy Lord." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 80, 81. 

SECTION V. 
The Design of his Creation. 

For what end is life bestowed upon the children of men ? 
Why were we sent into the world ? For one sole end, 
and for no other — to prepare for eternity. For this alone 
we live. For this, and no other purpose, is our life either 
given or continued. It pleased the all-wise God, at the 
season which he saw best, to arise in the greatness of his 
strength, and create the heavens and the earth, and all 
things that are therein. Having prepared all things for 
him, " he created man in his own image, after his own 
likeness." And what was the end of his creation ? It 
was one, and no other — that he might know, and love, and 
enjoy, and serve his great Creator to all eternity. 

But " man, being in honour, continued not but be- 
came lower than even the beasts that perish. He wilfully 
and openly rebelled against God, and cast off his alle- 
giance to the Majesty of heaven. Hereby he instantly 
lost both the favour of God, and the image of God wherein 
he was created. As he was then incapable of obtaining 
happiness by the old, God established a new covenant 
with man ; the terms of which were no longer, " Do this 
and live," but " Believe, and thou shalt be saved." But 
still the end of man is one and the same ; only it stands on 
another foundation. For the plain tenor of it is, " Believe 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God hath given to be the 
propitiation for thy sins, and thou sbalt be saved," — first, 
from the guilt of sin, having redemption through his blood ; 
then from the power, which shall have no more dominion 
over thee ; and then from the root of it, into the whole 
image of Gorl. And being restored both to the favour and 

7 



146 



WESLEYANA — OF MAN. 



image of God, thou shalt know, love, and serve him to all 
eternity. So that still the end of his life, the life of every 
man born into the world, is to know, love, and serve his 
great Creator. 

And let it be observed, as this is the end, so it is the 
whole and sole end, for which every man upon the face 
of the earth, for which every one of you were brought 
into the world, and endued with a living soul. Remem- 
ber, you were born for nothing else. You live for nothing 
else. Your life is continued to you upon earth for no 
other purpose than this, that you may know, love, and 
serve God on earth, and enjoy him to all eternity. Con- 
sider ! you were not created to please your senses, to 
gratify your imagination, to gain money, or the praise of 
men ; to seek happiness in any created good, in any thing 
under the sun. All this is " walking in a vain shadow ;" 
it is leading a restless, miserable life, in order to a miser- 
able eternity. On the contrary, you were created for this, 
and for no other purpose — by seeking and finding happi- 
ness in God on earth, to secure the glory of God in heaven. 
Therefore let your heart continually say, " This one thing 
I do" — having one thing in view, remembering why I was 
born, and why I am continued in life — " I press to the 
mark." I aim at the one end of my being, God ; even at 
" God in Christ reconciling the world to himself." He 
shall be my God for ever and ever, and my guide even 
unto death. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 405, 406. 

SECTION VI. 
His Accountability, 

There is no employment of our time, no action or 
conversation, that is purely indifferent. All is good or 
bad, because all our time, as every thing we have, is not 
our own. All these are, as our Lord speaks, ra aTilorpia, 



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147 



the property of another ; of God our creator. Now these 
either are or are not employed according to his will. If 
they are so employed, all is good ; if they are not, all is 
evil. Again : it is his will that we should continually 
grow in grace, and in the living knowledge of our Lord 
Jesus Christ : consequently, every thought, word, and 
work, whereby this knowledge is increased, whereby we 
grow in grace, is good ; and every one whereby this know- 
ledge is not increased, is truly and properly evil.— Sermons, 
vol. i, pp. 456, 457. 

In what respects are we now God's stewards ? We are 
now indebted to him for all we have. But although a 
debtor is obliged to return what he has received, yet until 
the time of payment comes, he is at liberty to use it as 
he pleases. It is not so with a steward : he is not at 
liberty to use what is lodged in his hands as he pleases, 
but as his master pleases. He has no right to dispose of 
any thing which is in his hands but according to the will 
of his lord. For he is not the proprietor of any of these 
things, but barely intrusted with them by another ; and 
entrusted on this express condition, that he shall dispose 
of all at his master's orders. Now this is exactly the case 
of every man with relation to God. We are not at liberty 
to use what he has lodged in our hands as we please, but 
as he pleases, who alone is the possessor of heaven and 
earth, and the Lord of every creature. We have no right 
to dispose of any thing we have but according to his will, 
seeing we are not proprietors of any of these things ; they 
are all, as our Lord speaks, aMorpta, belonging to another 
person ; nor is any thing properly our own, in the land of 
our pilgrimage. We shall not receive ra tdia, our own 
things, till we come to our own country. Eternal things 
only are our own : with all these temporal things we are 
barely intrusted by another, the Disposer and Lord of all. 
And he intrusts us with them on this express condition, 



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WESLEYAXA OF MAN, 



that we use them only as our Master's goods, and accord- 
ing to the particular directions which he has given us in 
his word. 

On this condition he hath intrusted us our souls, our 
bodies, our goods, and whatever other talents we have 
received : but in order to impress this weighty truth on 
our hearts, it will be needful to come to particulars. 

And, first, God has intrusted us with our soul, an im- 
mortal spirit, made in the image of God ; together with all 
the powers and faculties thereof, understanding, imagina- 
tion, memory, will, and a train of affections, either in- 
cluded in it, or closely dependant upon it— love and hatred, 
joy and sorrow, respecting present good and evil, desire 
and aversion, hope and fear, respecting that which is to 
come. All these St. Paul seems to include in two words 
when he says, "the peace of God shall keep your hearts 
and minds. n Perhaps, indeed, the latter word, voriaara, 
might rather be rendered thoughts ; provided we take that 
word in its most extensive sense, for every perception of 
the mind, whether active or passive. 

Now of all these it is certain we are only stewards. 
God has intrusted us with these powers and faculties, not 
that we may employ them according to our own will, but 
according to the express orders which he has given us ; 
although it is true, that in doing his will, we most effect- 
ually secure our own happiness, seeing it is herein only 
that we can be happy, either in time or in eternity. Thus 
vre are to use our understanding, our imagination, our 
memory, wholly to the glory of Him that gave them. Thus 
our will is to be wholly given up to Him, and all our affec- 
tions to be regulated as he directs. We are to love and 
hate, to rejoice and grieve, to desire and shun, to hope and 
fear, according to the rule which He prescribes whose we 
are, and whom we are to serve in all things. Even our 
thoughts are not our own in this sense ; they are not at 



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149 



our own disposal ; but for every deliberate motion of our 
mind we are accountable to our great Master. 

God has, secondly, intrusted us with our bodies, (those 
exquisitely wrought machines, so " fearfully and wonder- 
fully made,") with all the powers and members thereof. 
He has intrusted us with the organs of sense ; of sight, 
hearing, and the rest : but none of these are given us as 
our own, to be employed according to our own will. None 
of these are lent us in such a sense as to leave us at 
liberty to use them as we please for a season. No : we 
have received them on these very terms, that, as long as 
they abide with us, we should employ them all in that very 
manner, and no other, which he appoints. 

It is on the same terms that he imparted to us that most 
excellent talent of speech. " Thou hast given me a 
tongue," says the ancient writer, " that I may praise thee 
therewith." For this purpose was it given to all the 
children of men, to be employed in glorifying God. No- 
thing therefore is more ungrateful, or more absurd, than to 
think or say, " Our tongues are our own." That cannot 
be, unless we have created ourselves, and so are indepen- 
dent of the Most High. Nay, but " it is he that hath made 
us, and not we ourselves." The manifest consequence is, 
that he is still Lord over us, in this, as in all other respects. 
It follows that there is not a word of our tongue for which 
we are not accountable to him. 

To him we are equally accountable for the use of our 
hands and feet, and all the members of our body. These 
are so many talents which are committed to our trust until 
the time appointed by the Father. Until then we have the 
use of all these ; but as stewards, not as proprietors ; to 
the end we should " render them, not as instruments of 
unrighteousness unto sin, but as instruments of righteous- 
ness unto God." 

God has intrusted us, thirdly, with a portion of worldly 



150 



WESLEYANA OF MAX. 



goods ; with food to eat, raiment to put on, and a place 
where to lay our head: with not only the necessaries, but 
the conveniences of life. Above all, he has committed to 
our charge that precious talent which contains all the rest, 
money : indeed it is unspeakably precious, if we are wise 
and faithful stewards of it ; if we employ every part of it 
for such purposes as our blessed Lord has commanded us 
to do. 

God has intrusted us, fourthly, with several talents, 
which do not properly come under any of these heads. 
Such is bodily strength ; such are health, a pleasing per- 
son, an agreeable address ; such are learning and know- 
ledge, in their various degrees, with all the other advan- 
tages of education. Such is the influence which we have 
over others, whether by their love and esteem of us, or by 
power ; power to do them good or hurt, to help or hinder 
them in the circumstances of life. Add to these, that in- 
valuable talent of time with which God intrusts us from 
moment to moment, Add, lastly, that on which all the 
rest depend, and without which they would ail be curses, 
not blessings ; namely, the grace of God, the power of his 
Holy Spirit, which alone worketh in us all that is accept- 
able in his sight. 

In so many respects are the children of men stewards 
of the Lord, the possessor of heaven and earth : so large 
a portion of his goods, of various kinds, hath he committed 
to their charge. But it is not for ever, nor indeed for any 
considerable time : we have this trust reposed in us only 
during the short, uncertain space that we sojourn here be- 
low ; only so long as we remain on earth, as this fleeting 
breath is in our nostrils. The hour is swiftly approaching, 
it is just at hand, when we " can be no longer stewards." 
The moment the body " returns to the dust as it was, and 
the spirit to God who gave it," we bear that character no 
more ; the time of our stewardship is at an end. Part of 



WESLEYANA— -OF MAN. 



151 



those goods wherewith we were before intrusted are now 
come to an end ; at least they are so with regard to us ; 
nor are we longer intrusted with them : and that part which 
remains can no longer be employed or improved as it was 
before. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 449-451. 

SECTION VII. 
Conscience, and its several Kinds. 

What is conscience, in the Christian sense 1 It is 
that faculty of the soul which, by the assistance of the 
grace of God, sees, at one and the same time, (1.) Our 
own tempers and lives ; the real nature and quality of our 
thoughts, words, and actions : (2.) The rule whereby we 
are to be directed : and, (3.) The agreement or disagree- 
ment therewith. To express this a little more largely : — 
Conscience implies, first, the faculty a man has of knowing 
himself ; of discerning, both in general and in particular, 
his own tempers, thoughts, words, and actions. But this it 
is not possible for him to do without the assistance of the 
Spirit of God. Otherwise self-love, and indeed every other 
irregular passion, would disguise and wholly conceal him 
from himself. It implies, secondly, a knowledge of the 
rule whereby he is to be directed in every particular; 
which is no other than the written word of God. Con- 
science implies, thirdly, a knowledge that all his thoughts, 
and words, and actions are conformable to that rule. In 
all these offices of conscience the " unction of the Holy 
One" is indispensably needful. Without this, neither 
could we clearly discern our lives or tempers ; nor could 
we judge of the rule whereby we are to walk, or of our 
conformity or disconformity to it. 

This is properly the account of a good conscience ; 
which may be in other terms expressed thus : A divine 
consciousness of walking in all things according to the 



152 



WESLEYANA OF MAN. 



written word of God. It seems, indeed, that there can be 
no conscience which has not a regard to God. If you 
say, " Yes, there certainly may be a consciousness of 
having done right or wrong, without any reference to him 
I answer, this I cannot grant : I doubt whether the very 
words " right and wrong," according to the Christian sys- 
tem, do not imply, in the very idea of them, agreement and 
disagreement to the will and word of God. If so, there is 
no such thing as conscience in a Christian, if we leave 
God out of the question. 

In order to the very existence of a good conscience, as 
well as the continuance of it, the continued influence of 
the Spirit of God is absolutely needful. Accordingly the 
apostle John declares to the believers of all ages, " Ye 
have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all 
things :" all things that are needful to your having " a con- 
science void of offence toward God and toward man." So 
he adds, " Ye have no need that any one should teach 
you," otherwise, " than as that anointing teacheth you." 
That anointing clearly teacheth us these three things : 
first, the true meaning of God's word : secondly, our own 
tempers and lives ; bringing all our thoughts, words, and 
actions, to remembrance : and thirdly, the agreement of all 
with the commandments of God. 

Proceed we now t@ consider, in the second place, the 
several sorts of conscience. A good conscience has been 
spoken of already. This St. Paul expresses various ways. 
In one place he simply terms it a " good conscience to- 
ward God ;" in another, " a conscience void of offence 
toward God and toward man." But he speaks still more 
largely in the text : " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony 
of our conscience, that in simplicity," with a single eye, 
" and godly sincerity, we have had our conversation in the 
world." Meantime he observes, that this was done, " not 
by fleshly wisdom," commonly called prudence ; (this never 



WESLEYANA OF MAN. 



153 



did, nor ever can produce such an effect ;) " but by the 
grace of God :" which alone is sufficient to work this in 
any child of man. 

Nearly allied to this (if it be not the same, placed in 
another view, or a particular branch of it) is a tender con- 
science. One of a tender conscience is exact in observing 
any deviation from the word of God, whether in thought, 
or word, or work ; and immediately feels remorse and 
self-condemnation for it. And the constant cry of his 
soul is, 

" O that my tender soul may fly 

The first abhorr'd approach of ill ; 
Quick as the apple of an eye, 

The slightest touch of sin to feel V 9 

But sometimes this excellent quality, tenderness of con- 
science, is carried to an extreme. We find some who fear 
where no fear is, who are continually condemning them- 
selves without cause ; imagining some things to be sinful 
which the Scripture nowhere condemns, and supposing 
other things to be their duty which the Scripture nowhere 
enjoins. This is properly termed a scrupulous conscience, 
and is a sore evil. It is highly expedient to yield to it as 
little as possible ; rather it is a matter of earnest prayer 
that you maybe delivered from this sore evil, and may 
recover a sound mind : to which nothing would contribute 
more than the converse of a pious and judicious friend. 

But the extreme which is opposite to this is far more 
dangerous. A hardened conscience is a thousand times 
more dangerous than a scrupulous one, that can violate a 
plain command of God without any self-condemnation; 
either doing what he has expressly forbidden, or neglect- 
ing what he has expressly commanded ; and yet without 
any remorse ; yea, perhaps glorying in this very hardness 
of heart! Many instances of this deplorable stupidity we 
meet with at this day ; and even among people who sup- 

7* 



154 



WESLEYANA — OF MAN. 



pose themselves to have no small share of religion. A 
person is doing something which the Scripture clearly 
forbids. You ask. How do you dare to do this I and are 
answered with perfect unconcern, ' ; 0, my heart does not 
condemn me." I reply, <; So much the worse. I would 
to God it did ! You would then be in a safer state than 
you are now. It is a dreadful thing to be condemned by 
the word of God, and yet not to be condemned by your 
own heart !" If we can break the least of the known 
commandments of God without any self-condemnation, it 
is plain that the god of this world hath hardened our 
hearts. If we do not soon recover from this, we shall be 
" past feeling.*' and our consciences (as St. Paul speaks) 
will be '• seared as with a hot iron." — Sermons, vol. ii, 
pp. 379-3S1. 

SECTION VIII. 
His Knowledge limited. 

The desire of knowledge is a universal principle in 
man, fixed in his inmost nature. It is not variable, but 
constant in every rational creature, unless while it is sus- 
pended by some stronger desire. And it is insatiable : 
" the eve is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with 
hearing : ' neither the mind with any degree of knowledge 
which can be conveyed into it. Audit is planted in every 
human soul for excellent purposes. It is intended to hin- 
der our taking up our rest in any thing here below ; to 
raise our thoughts to higher and higher objects, more and 
more worthy our consideration, till we ascend to the 
Source of all knowledge and all excellence, the all-wise, 
and all-gracious Creator. 

But although our desire of knowledge has no bounds, 
vet our knowledge itself has. It is, indeed, confined 
within very narrow bounds ; abundantly narrower than 



WESLEY ANA OF MAN. 



155 



common people imagine, or men of learning are willing to 
acknowledge : a strong intimation (since the great Creator 
doeth nothing in vain) that there will be some future state 
of being wherein that now insatiable desire will be satis- 
fied, and there will be no longer so immense a distance 
between the appetite and the object of it. 

The present knowledge of man is exactly adapted to 
his present wants. It is sufficient to warn us of, and to 
preserve us from, most of the evils to which we are now 
exposed ; and to procure us whatever is necessary for us 
in this our infant state of existence. We know enough 
of the nature and sensible qualities of the things that are 
round about us, so far as they are subservient to the health 
and strength of our bodies ; we know how to procure and 
prepare our food ; we know what raiment is fit to cover us ; 
we know how to build our houses, and to furnish them with 
all necessaries and conveniences ; we know just as much 
as is conducive to our living comfortably in this world : 
but of innumerable things above, below, and around about 
us, we know little more than that they exist. And in this 
our deep ignorance is seen the goodness, as well as the 
wisdom of God, in cutting short his knowledge on every 
side, on purpose to "hide pride from man." 

Therefore it is that by the very constitution of their 
nature the wisest of men " know [but] in part." And how 
amazingly small a part do they know, either of the Crea- 
tor, or of his works ! This is a very needful, but a very 
unpleasing theme ; for " vain man would be wise." Let 
us reflect upon it for a while. And may the God of wisdom 
and love open our eyes to discern our own ignorance. 
Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 116, 117. 



156 



WESLEY AN A — OF MAN, 



SECTION IX. 

Is ignorant of the Particulars of a future State. 

I am now an immortal spirit, strangely connected with 
a little portion of earth : but this is only for a while. In 
a short time I am to quit this tenement of clay, and to 
remove into another state, 

44 Which the living know not, 
And the dead cannot — or they may not tell !" 

What kind of existence shall I then enter upon, when my 
spirit has launched out of the body ? How shall I feel 
myself, perceive my own being? How shall I discern 
the things that are around about me, either material or spi- 
ritual objects ? When my eyes no longer transmit the 
rays of light, how will the naked spirit see ? When the 
organs of hearing are mouldered into dust, in what man- 
ner shall I hear ? When the brain is of no farther use, 
what means of thinking shall I have ? When my whole 
body is dissolved into senseless earth, what means shall 
I have of gaining knowledge ? 

How strange, how incomprehensible are the means 
whereby I shall then take knowledge even of the material 
world ! Will things appear then as they do now ? Of the 
same size, shape, and colour ? Or will they be altered in 
any, or all these respects? How will the sun, moon, and 
stars, appear ? The sublunary heavens ? The planetary 
heavens ? The region of the fixed stars ? How the fields 
of ether, which we may conceive to be millions of miles 
beyond them? Of all this we know nothing yet ; and in- 
deed we need to know nothing. 

What then can we know of those innumerable objects 
which properly belong to the invisible world ; which mor- 
tal " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it 



I 



WESLEYANA — OF MAN. 157 

entered into our hearts to conceive ?" What a scene will 
then be opened, when the regions of hades are then dis- 
played without a covering ! Our English translators seem 
to have been much at a loss for a word to render this. 
Indeed two hundred years ago it was tolerably expressed 
by the word hell, which then signified much the same 
with the word hades, namely, the invisible world. Ac- 
cordingly, by Christ descending into hell they meant, his 
body remained in the grave, his soul remained in hades, 
(which is the receptacle of separate spirits,) from death to 
the resurrection. Here we cannot doubt but the spirits 
of the righteous are inexpressibly happy. They are, as 
St. Paul expresses it, " with the Lord :" favoured with so 
intimate a communion with him as " is far better" than 
whatever the chief of the apostles experienced while in 
this world. On the other hand, we learn from our Lord's 
own account of Dives and Lazarus, that the rich man, 
from the moment he left the world, entered into a state of 
torment. And " there is a great gulf fixed" in hades, 
between the place of the holy, and that of unholy spirits, 
which it is impossible for either the one or the other to 
pass over. Indeed, a gentleman of great learning, the 
honourable Mr. Campbell, in his account of the Middle 
State, published not many years ago, seems to suppose that 
wicked souls may amend in hades, and then remove to a 
happier mansion. He has great hopes that " the rich 
man" mentioned by our Lord, in particular, might be puri- 
fied by that penal fire, till, in process of time, he might be 
qualified for a better abode. But who can reconcile this 
with Abraham's assertion, that none can pass over the 
" great gulf?" 

I cannot therefore but think, that all those who are with 
the rich man in the unhappy division of hades, will remain 
there, howling and blaspheming, cursing and looking up- 
ward, till they are cast into " the everlasting fire prepared 



158 



WESLEYANA— OF MAN, 



for the devil and his angels." And, on the other hand, 
can we reasonably doubt but that those who are now in 
paradise, in Abraham's bosom, all those holy souls who 
have been discharged from the body, from the beginning 
of the world unto this day, will be continually ripening 
for heaven ; will be perpetually holier and happier, till 
they are received into the " kingdom prepared for them 
from the foundation of the world ?" 

But who can inform us in what part of the universe- 
hades is situated — this abode of both happy and un- 
happy spirits till they are reunited to their bodies ? It 
has not pleased God to reveal any thing concerning it in 
the Holy Scripture ; and, consequently, it is not possible 
for us to form any judgment or even conjecture about it. 
Neither are we informed how either one or the other are 
employed during the time of their abode there. Yet may 
we, not improbably, suppose, that the Governor of the 
world may sometimes permit wicked souls " to do his 
gloomy errands in the deep ?" Or, perhaps, in conjunc- 
tion with evil angels, to inflict vengeance on wicked men? 
Or will many of them be shut up in chains of darkness 
unto the judgment of the great day ? In the mean time 
may we not probably suppose, that the spirits of the just, 
though generally lodged in paradise, yet may sometimes, 
in conjunction with the holy angels, minister to the heirs 
of salvation ? May they not 

44 Sometimes, on errands of love, 
Revisit their brethren below ?" 

It is a pleasing thought, that some of these human spirits, 
attending us with, or in the room of, angels, are of the 
number of those that were dear to us while they were in 
the body. So that there is no absurdity in the question, 

44 Have ye yonr own flesh forgot, 
By a common ransom bought ? 



WESLEY ANA OF MAN. 



159 



Can death's interposing tide 
Spirits one in Christ divide V 

But be this as it may, it is certain, human spirits swiftly 
increase in knowledge, in holiness, and in happiness: 
conversing with all the wise and holy souls that lived in 
all ages and nations from the beginning of the world ; with 
angels and archangels, to whom the children of men are 
no more than infants ; and, above all, with the eternal Son 
of God, " in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and 
knowledge." And let it be especially considered, what- 
ever they learn they will retain for ever. For they forget 
nothing. To forget is only incident to spirits that are 
clothed with flesh and blood. 

But how will this material universe appear to a disim- 
bodied spirit ? Who can tell whether any of these objects 
that surround us will appear the same as they do now ? 
And if we know so little of these, what can we know con- 
cerning objects of a quite different nature 1 Concerning 
the spiritual world ? It seems it will not be possible for 
us to discern them at all till we are furnished with senses 
of a different nature, which are not yet opened in our 
souls. These may enable us both to penetrate the inmost 
substance of things, whereof we now discern only the 
surface, and to discern innumerable things, of the very 
existence whereof we have not now the least perception. 
What astonishing scenes will then discover to our newly 
opening senses ! Probably fields of ether, not only ten 
fold, but ten thousand fold " the length of this terrene." 
And with what variety of furniture, animate or inanimate ! 
How many orders of beings, not discovered by organs of 
flesh and blood! Perhaps thrones, dominions, virtues, 
princedoms, powers ! Whether of those that have retained 
their first habitations and primeval strength, or those that, 
rebelling against their Creator, have been cast out of 
heaven 1 And shall we not then, as far as angels ken, 



160 



WESLEYANA — OF MAN. 



survey the bounds of creation, and see every place where 
the Almighty 

" Stopp'd his rapid wheels, and said, 
This be thy just circumference, O world ?" 

Yea, shall we not be able to move, quick as thought, 
through the wide realms of uncreated light ? Above all, 
the moment we step into eternity, shall we not feel our- 
selves swallowed up of Him who is in this and every 
place, — w T ho filleth heaven and earth? It is only the veil 
of flesh and blood which now hinders us from perceiving 
that the great Creator cannot but fill the whole immensity 
of space. He is every moment above us, beneath us, 
and on every side. Indeed, in this dark abode, this land 
of shadows, this region of sin and death, the thick cloud 
which is interposed between conceals him from our sight. 
But the veil will disappear, and he will appear, in un- 
clouded majesty, " God over all, blessed for ever." — Ser- 
monS) vol. ii, pp. 466-468. 

How exceeding little do we now know concerning the 
invisible world ! And we should have known still less 
of it had it not pleased the Author of both worlds to give 
us more than natural light, to give us " his word to be a 
lantern to our feet, and a light in all our paths." And holy 
men of old, being assisted by his Spirit, have discovered 
many particulars of which otherwise we should have had 
no conception. 

And without revelation, how little certainty of invisible 
things did the wisest of men obtain ! The small glim- 
merings of light which they had were merely conjectural. 
At best they were only a faint dim twilight, delivered from 
uncertain tradition ; and so obscured by heathen fables that 
it was but one degree better than utter darkness. 

How uncertain the best of these conjectures was may 
easily be gathered from their own accounts. The most 



WESLEYANA OF MAN. 



161 



finished of all these accounts is that of the great Roman 
poet. Where observe how warily he begins with that 
apologetic preface, Sit mihi fas audita loqui ? " May I be 
allowed to tell what I have heard V } And in the conclu- 
sion, lest any one should imagine he believed any of these 
accounts, he sends the relater of them out of hades, by the 
ivory gate, through which he had just informed us that 
only dreams and shadows pass — a very plain intimation 
that all which had gone before is to be looked upon as a 
dream ! 

How little regard they had for all these conjectures, 
with regard to the invisible world, clearly appears from 
the words of his brother poet, who affirms, without any 
scruple, 

" Esse aliquos manes et subterranea regna 
Nec fieri credunt 

" That there are ghosts or realms below, not even a man 
of them now believes." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 471. 

SECTION X. 

His Folly in choosing Sin. 

In what condition are those immortal spirits who have 
made choice of a miserable eternity ? I say, made choice ; 
for it impossible this should be the lot of any creature but 
by his own act and deed. The day is coming when every 
soul will be constrained to acknowledge, in the sight of 
men and angels, 

"No dire decree of Thine did seal 
Or fix th' unalterable doom ; 
Consign my unborn soul to hell, 

Or damn me from my mothers womb." 

In what condition will such a spirit be after the sentence 
is executed, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- 



162 



WESLEYANA — OF MAX. 



pared for the devil and his angels V Suppose him to be 
just now plunged into " the lake of fire burning with 
brimstone," where " they have no rest day or night, but 
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and 
ever." Why, if we were only to be chained down one 
day. yea, one hour, in a lake of fire, how amazingly long 
would one day or one hour appear! I know not if it 
would not seem as a thousand years. But (astonishing 
thought!) after thousands of thousands, he has but just 
tasted of his bitter cup ! After millions of millions, it 
will be no nearer the end than it was the moment it began ! 

What then is he, how foolish, how mad, in how unutter- 
able a degree of distraction, who, seeming to have the 
understanding of a man, deliberately prefers temporal 
things to eternal ? who (allowing that absurd, impossible 
supposition, that wickedness is happiness — a supposition 
utterly contrary to all reason, as well as to matter of fact) 
prefers the happiness of a year, say a thousand years, to 
the happiness of eternity, in comparison of which a thou- 
sand ages are infinitely less than a year, a day, a moment? 
Especially when we take this into the consideration, 
(which, indeed, should never be forgotten.) that the refus- 
ing a happy eternity implies the choosing of a miserable 
eternity : for there is not, cannot be, any medium between 
everlasting joy and everlasting- pain. It is a vain thought 
which some have entertained, that death will put an end to 
the soul as well as to the body. It will put an end to 
neither the one nor the other : it will only alter the man- 
ner of their existence. But when the body "returns to 
the dust as it was, the spirit will return to God that gave 
it." Therefore, at the moment of death, it must be un- 
speakably happy, or unspeakably miserable : and that mi- 
sery will never end. 

" Xeter ! Where sinks the soul at that dread sound ? 
Into a gulf how dark, and how profound !" 



WESLEY ANA OF MAN. 



163 



How often would he who had made the wretched choice 
wish for the death both of his soul and body ! It is not 
impossible that he might pray in some such manner as 
Dr. Young supposes : — 

" When I have writhed ten thousand years in fire ; 
Ten thousand thousand, let me then expire !" 

Yet this unspeakable folly, this unutterable madness, of 
preferring present things to eternal, is the disease of every 
man born into the world, while in his natural state. For 
such is the constitution of our nature, that as the eye sees 
only such a portion of space at once, so the mind sees 
only such a portion of time at once. And as all the space 
that lies beyond this is invisible to the eye, so all the time 
which lies beyond that compass is invisible to the mind. 
So that we do not perceive either the space or the time 
which is at a distance from us. The eye sees distinctly 
the space that is near it, with the objects which it contains : 
in like manner the mind sees distinctly those objects 
which are within such a distance of time. The eye does 
not see the beauties of China; they are at too great a 
distance : there is too great a space between us and them ; 
therefore we are not affected by them. They are as no- 
thing to us : it is just the same to us as if they had no 
being. For the same reason the mind does not see either 
the beauties or the terrors of eternity. We are not at all 
affected by them, because they are so distant from us. On 
this account it is that they appear to us nothing : just as 
if they had no existence. Meantime we are wholly taken 
up with things present, whether in time or space ; and 
things appear less and less, as they are more and more 
distant from us, either in one respect or the other. And 
so it must be ; such is the constitution of our nature ; till 
nature is changed by almighty grace. But this is no 
manner of excuse for those who continue in their natural 



164 



WESLEYANA— OF MAN. 



blindness to futurity ; because a remedy for it is provided, 
which is found by all that seek it : yea, it is freely given 
to all that sincerely ask it. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 16-18. 

SECTION XI. 

Subject to Death. 

God has indeed provided for the execution of his own 
decree, in the very principles of our nature. It is well 
known the human body, when it comes into the -world, 
consists of innumerable membranes exquisitely thin, that 
are filled with circulating fluids, to which the solid parts 
bear a very small proportion. Into the tubes, composed 
of these membranes, nourishment must be continually in- 
fused ; otherwise life cannot continue, but will come to an 
end almost as soon as it is begun. And suppose this 
nourishment to be liquid, which, as it flows through those 
fine canals, continually enlarges them in all their dimen- 
sions i yet it contains innumerable solid particles, which 
continually adhere to the inner surface of the vessels 
through which they flow ; so that in the same proportion 
as any vessel is enlarged, it is stiffened also. Thus the 
body grows firmer as it grows larger, from infancy to man- 
hood. In twenty, five and twenty, or thirty years, it attains 
its full measure of firmness. Every part of the body is 
then stiffened to its full degree ; as much earth adhering 
to all the vessels as gives the solidity they severally need 
to the nerves, arteries, veins, muscles, in order to exercise 
their functions in the most perfect manner. For twenty, 
or, it may be, thirty years following, although more and 
more particles of earth continually adhere to the inner 
surface of every vessel in the body, yet the stiffness caused 
thereby is hardly observable, and occasions little incon- 
venience. But after sixty years, (more or less, according 
to the natural constitution, and a thousand accidental cir- 



WESLEY ANA- — OF REPENTANCE. 



165 



cumstances,) the change is easily perceived even at the 
surface of the body. Wrinkles show the proportion of the 
fluids to be lessened, as does also the dryness of the skin, 
through a diminution of the blood and juices, which be- 
fore moistened and kept it smooth and soft. The extrem- 
ities of the body grow cold, not only as they are remote 
from the centre of motion, but as the smaller vessels are 
filled up, and can no longer admit the circulating fluid. 
As age increases, fewer and fewer of the vessels are per- 
vious, and capable of transmitting the vital stream ; except 
the larger ones, most of which are lodged within the trunk 
of the body. In extreme old age, the arteries themselves, 
the grand instruments of circulation, by the continual ap- 
position of earth, become hard, and, as it were, bony ; till, 
having lost the power of contracting themselves, they can 
no longer propel the blood, even through the largest chan- 
nels ; in consequence of which death naturally ensues. 
Thus are the seeds of death sown in our very nature ! 
Thus from the very hour when we first appear on the 
stage of life we are travelling toward death : we are pre- 
paring, whether we will or no, to return to the dust from 
whence we came. — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 35. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
OF REPENTANCE. 

SECTION L 

Of its Nature. 

" Repent :" that is, Know yourselves. This is the first 
repentance, previous to faith ; even conviction, or self- 
knowledge. Awake, then, thou that sleepest. Know thy- 



166 



"WES LEY AN A — OF REPENTANCE. 



self to be a sinner, and what manner of sinner thou art. 
Know that corruption of thy inmost nature whereby thou 
art very far gone from original righteousness, whereby 
" the flesh lusteth," always u contrary to the Spirit," through 
that " carnal mind" which " is enmity against God," 
which u is not subject to the law of God neither indeed, 
can be." Know that thou art corrupted in every power, 
in every faculty of thy soul ; that thou art totally corrupted 
in every one of these, all the foundations being out of 
course. The eyes of thy understanding are darkened, 
so that they cannot discern God, or the things of God. 
The clouds of ignorance and error rest upon thee, and 
cover thee with the shadow of death. Thou knowest 
nothing yet as thou oughtest to know, neither God, nor 
the world, nor thyself. Thy will is no longer the will 
of God, but is utterly perverse and distorted; averse from 
all good, from all which God loves, and prone to all evil, 
to every abomination which God hateth. Thy affections 
are alienated from God, and scattered abroad over all the 
earth. All thy passions, both thy desires and aversions, 
thy joys and sorrows, thy hopes and fears, are out of frame, 
are either undue in their degree, or placed on undue ob- 
jects. So that there is no soundness in thy soul ; but 
" from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot," (to 
use the strong expression of the prophet,) there are only 
" wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." 

Such is the inbred corruption of thy heart, of thy very 
inmost nature. And what manner of branches canst thou 
expect to grow from such an evil root 1 Hence springs 
unbelief: ever departing from the living God; saying, 
" Who is the Lord, that I should serve him ? Tush ! Thou, 
God, carest not for it : hence independence ; affecting to 
be like the Most High : hence pride in all its forms ; 
teaching thee to say, " I am rich, and increased in goods, 
and have need of nothing." From this evil fountain flow 



WESLEYANA OF REPENTANCE. 



167 



forth the bitter streams of vanity, thirst of praise, ambition, 
covetousness, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and 
the pride of life. From this arise anger, hatred, malice, 
revenge, envy, jealousy, evil surmisings : from this, all 
the foolish and hurtful lusts that now " pierce thee through 
with many sorrows," and, if not timely prevented, will at 
length drown thy soul in everlasting perdition. 

And what fruits can grow on such branches as these? 
Only such as are bitter and evil continually. Of pride 
cometh contention, vain boasting, seeking and receiving 
praise of men, and so robbing God of that glory which he 
cannot give unto another : of the lust of the flesh come 
gluttony or drunkenness, luxury or sensuality, fornication, 
u n cleanness ; variously defiling that body which was de- 
signed for a temple of the Holy Ghost ; of unbelief, every 
evil word and work. But the time would fail, shouldest 
thou reckon up all ; all the idle words thou hast spoken, 
provoking the Most High, grieving the Holy One of Israel ; 
all the evil works thou hast done, either wholly evil in 
themselves, or at least not done to the glory of God. For 
thy actual sins are more than thou art able to express, 
more than the hairs of thy head. Who can number the 
sands of the sea, or the drops of rain, or thy iniquities ? 

And knowest thou not that " the wages of sin is 
death 1" death not only temporal, but eternal. " The 
soul that sinneth, it shall die :" for the mouth of the Lord 
Jiath spoken it. It shall die the second death. This is 
the sentence, to " be punished" with never-ending death, 
" with everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
Lord, and from the glory of his power." Knowest thou 
not that every sinner, evoxor eg-i rr, yeewq T8 Trvpoc, not pro- 
perly is in danger of hell-fire ; that expression is far too 
weak ; but rather, is under the sentence of hell-fire ; doomed 
already, just dragging to execution. Thou art guilty of 
everlasting death. It is the just reward of thy inward and 



168 



WE S L E Y AN A OF REPENTANCE. 



outward wickedness. It is just that the sentence should 
now take place. Dost thou see, dost thou feel this ? Art 
thou thoroughly convinced that thou deservest God's wrath, 
and everlasting damnation ? Would God do thee any 
wrong if he now commanded the earth to open and swal- 
low thee up ? If thou wert now to go down quick into 
the pit, into the fire that never shall be quenched ? If God 
hath given thee truly to repent, thou hast a deep sense 
that these things are so ; and that it is of his mere mercy 
thou art not consumed, swept away from the face of the 
earth. 

And what wilt thou do to appease the wrath of God, to 
atone for all thy sins, and to escape the punishment thou 
hast so justly deserved ? Alas ! thou canst do nothing : 
nothing that will in any wise make amends to God for one 
evil work, or word, or thought. If thou couldest now do 
all things well, if from this very hour, till thy soul should 
return to God, thou couldest perform perfect, uninterrupted 
obedience, even this would not atone for what is past. 
The not increasing thy debt would not discharge it. It 
would still remain as great as ever. Yea, the present and 
future obedience of all the men upon earth, and all the 
angels in heaven, would never make satisfaction to the 
justice of God for one single sin. How vain, then, was 
the thought of atoning for thy own sins by any thing thou 
couldest do ! It costeth far more to redeem one soul than 
all mankind is able to pay. So that, were there no other 
help for a guilty sinner, without doubt he must have per- 
ished everlastingly. 

But suppose perfect obedience, for the time to come, 
could atone for the sins that are past, this would profit 
thee nothing ; for thou art not able to perforin it ; no, not 
in any one point. Begin now : make the trial. Shake 
off that outward sin that so easily besetteth thee. Thou 
canst not. How then wilt thou change thy life from all 



WESLEVANA— OF REPENTANCE. 169 

evil to all good 1 Indeed it is impossible to be done, unless 
first thy heart be changed. For, so long as the tree re- 
mains evil, it cannot bring forth good fruit. But art thou 
able to change thy own heart from all sin to all holiness % 
to quicken a soul that is dead in sin ; dead to God, and 
alive only to the world ? No more than thou art able to 
quicken a dead body, to raise to life him that lieth in the 
grave. Yea, thou art not able to quicken thy soul in any 
degree, no more than to give any degree of life to the dead 
body. Thou canst do nothing, more or less, in this mat- 
ter ; thou art utterly without strength. To be deeply sen- 
sible of this, how helpless thou art, as well as how guilty 
and how sinful, this is that " repentance not to be repented 
of," which is the forerunner of the kingdom of God. 

If to this lively conviction of thy inward and outward 
sins, of thy utter guiltiness and helplessness, there be 
added suitable affections, — sorrow of heart for having de- 
spised thy own mercies ; remorse and self-condemnation, 
having thy mouth stopped; shame to life up thine eyes to 
heaven ; fear of the wrath of God abiding on thee, of his 
curse hanging over thy head, and of the fiery indignation 
ready to devour those who forget God, and obey not our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; earnest desire to escape from that in- 
dignation, to cease from evil, and learn to do well ; then I 
say unto thee, in the name of the Lord, " Thou art not 
far from the kingdom of God." One step more, and thou 
shalt enter in. Thou dost repent. Now " believe the gos- 
pel" — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 64-66. 

SECTION II. 
Its Author. 

It is certain that no human spirit, while it is in the 
body, can persuade another to repent ; can work in him an 
entire change, both of heart and life : a change from uni- 

8 



170 



WES LEY AN A OF FAITH. 



versal wickedness to universal holiness. And suppose 
that spirit discharged from the body, it is no more able to 
do this than it was before : no power less than that which 
created it at first can create any soul anew. No angel, 
much less any human spirit, whether in the body or out 
of the body, can bring one soul " from darkness to light, 
and from the power of Satan unto God." It might very 
possibly fright him to death, or to the belief of any spec- 
ulative truth ; but it could not fright him into spiritual life. 
God alone can raise those that are " dead in trespasses 
and sins." — Sermons, vol. ii, p. 421. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONCERNING FAITH. 

SECTION L 

Of its Nature. 

Faith in general is defined by the apostle npayfiaruv 
ekeyxos ov/SXetto/llevov : an evidence, a divine evidence and con- 
viction [the word means both] of things not seen ; not 
visible, not perceivable, either by sight, or by any other 
of the external senses. It implies both a supernatural 
evidence of God, and of the things of God ; a kind of spi- 
ritual light exhibited to the soul, and a supernatural sight 
or perception thereof. Accordingly the Scripture speaks 
of God's giving sometimes light, sometimes a power of 
discerning it. So St. Paul, " God, who commanded light 
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give 
us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the 
face of Jesus Christ." And elsewhere the same apostle 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 



171 



speaks of " the eyes of [our] understanding being opened." 
By this twofold operation of the Holy Spirit, having the 
eyes of our soul both opened and enlightened, we see the 
things which the natural " eye hath not seen, neither the 
ear heard." We have a prospect of the invisible things 
of God ; we see the spiritual world, which is all around 
about us, and yet no more discerned by our natural facul- 
ties than if it had no being : and we see the eternal world, 
piercing through the veil which hangs between time and 
eternity. Clouds and darkness then rest upon it no more, 
but we already see the glory which shall be revealed. 

Taking the word in a more particular sense, faith is a 
divine evidence and conviction not only that " God was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto himself," but also that 
Christ loved me, and gave himself for me. It is by this 
faith (whether we term it the essence, or rather a property 
thereof) that we receive Christ ; that we receive him in all 
his offices, as our prophet, priest, and king. It is by this 
that he is u made of God unto us wisdom, and righteous- 
ness, and sanctification, and redemption." 

" But is this the faith of assurance, or faith of adherence?" 
The Scripture mentions no such distinction. The apostle 
says, " There is one faith, and one hope of our calling ;" 
one Christian, saving faith ; " as there is one Lord," in 
whom we believe, and " one God and Father of us all." 
And it is certain this faith necessarily implies an assurance 
(which is here only another word for evidence, it being 
hard to tell the difference between them) that Christ loved 
me, and gave himself for me. For " he that believeth," 
with the true living faith, " hath the witness in himself :" 
" The Spirit witnesseth with his spirit that he is a child 
of God." " Because he is a son, God hath sent forth the 
Spirit of his Son into his heart, crying, Abba, Father !" 
giving him an assurance that he is so, and a childlike con- 
fidence in him. But let it be observed, that in the very 



172 



WESLEYANA — OF FAITH. 



nature of the thing, the assurance goes before the confi- 
dence. For a man cannot have a childlike confidence in 
God till he knows he is a child of God. Therefore con- 
fidence, trust, reliance, adherence, or whatever else it be 
called, is not the first, as some have supposed, but the 
second branch or act of faith. 

It is by this faith we are saved, justified, and sanctified ; 
taking that word in its highest sense. — Sermons, vol. i, 
pp. 386, 387. 

What faith is it then through which we are saved ? It 
may be answered, first, In general it is a faith in Christ : 
Christ, and God through Christ, are the proper objects of 
it. Herein, therefore, it is sufficiently, absolutely distin- 
guished from the faith either of ancient or modern hea- 
thens. And from the faith of a devil it is fully distin- 
guished by this — it is not barely a speculative, rational 
thing, a cold, lifeless assent, a train of ideas in the head ; 
but also a disposition of the heart. For thus saith the 
Scripture, " With the heart man believeth unto righteous- 
ness." And, " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the 
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe with thy heart that God hath 
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 

It acknowledges his death as the only sufficient means 
of redeeming man from death eternal, and his resurrection 
as the restoration of us all to life and immortality ; inas- 
much as he " was delivered for our sins, and rose again 
for our justification." Christian faith is, then, not only an 
assent to the whole gospel of Christ, but also a full reli- 
ance on the blood of Christ ; a trust in the merits of his 
life, death, and resurrection ; a recumbency upon him as 
our atonement and our life, as given for us, and living m 
us. It is a sure confidence which a man hath in God, 
that through the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and 
he reconciled to the favour of God ; and, in consequence 
hereof, a closing with him, and cleaving to him, as our 



WESLEYANA— OF FAITH. 173 

" wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," 
or, in one word, our salvation. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 
14, 15. 

Faith, in general, is a divine, supernatural e%eyxo$, evi- 
dence or conviction, " of things not seen," not discoverable 
by our bodily senses, as being either past, future, or spi- 
ritual. Justifying faith implies not only a divine evidence 
or conviction that " God was in Christ reconciling the 
world unto himself," but a sure trust and confidence that 
Christ died for my sins, that he loved me, and gave him- 
self for me. And at what time soever a sinner thus be- 
lieves, be it in early childhood, in the strength of his 
years, or when he is old and hoary-haired, God justifieth 
that ungodly one : God, for the sake of his Son, pardoneth 
and absolveth him who had in him, till then, no good 
thing. Repentance, indeed, God had given him before ; 
but that repentance was neither more nor less than a deep 
sense of the want of all good, and the presence of all evil. 
And whatever good he hath or doth from that hour when 
he first believes in God through Christ, faith does not find, 
but bring. This is the fruit of faith. First the tree is 
good, and then the fruit is good also. 

I cannot describe the nature of this faith better than in 
the words of our own church : " The only instrument of 
salvation (whereof justification is one branch) is faith : that 
is, a sure trust and confidence that God both hath and will 
forgive our sins ; that he hath accepted us again into his 
favour, for the merits of Christ's death and passion. But 
here we must take heed that we do not halt with God 
through an inconstant, wavering faith. Peter, coming to 
Christ upon the water, because he fainted in faith, was 
in danger of drowning. So we, if we begin to waver or 
doubt, it is to be feared that we shall sink, as Peter did, 
not into the water, but into the bottomless pit of hell-fire." 
Second Sermon on the Passion. 



174 



AVE S L E YAXA — OF FAITH. 



" Therefore have a sure and constant faith, not only that 
the death of Christ is available for all the world, but that 
he hath made a full and sufficient sacrifice for thee, a per- 
fect cleansing of thy sins, so that thou mayest say, with 
the apostle, he loved thee, and gave himself for thee. For 
this is to make Christ thine own, and to apply his merits 
unto thyself." — Sermon on the Sacrament, first part. — Ser- 
mons, vol. i, p. 50. 

The true, living, Christian faith, which whosoever hath 
is born of God, is not only an assent, an act of the under- 
standing, but a disposition which God hath wrought in his 
heart : " a sure trust and confidence in God, that through 
the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and he recon- 
ciled to the favour of God." This implies, that a man first 
renounces himself ; that, in order to be " found in Christ," 
to be accepted through him, he totally rejects all " confi- 
dence in the flesh ;" that, " having nothing to pay," having 
no trust in his own works, or righteousness of any kind, he 
comes to God as a lost, miserable, self-destroyed, self-con- 
demned, undone, helpless sinner ; as one whose mouth is 
utterly stopped, and who is altogether " guilty before God." 
Such a sense of sin (commonly called despair, by thos-e 
who speak evil of the things they know not) together with 
a full conviction, such as no words can express, that of 
Christ only cometh our salvation, and an earnest desire 
of that salvation must precede a living faith, a trust in 
Him who for us paid our ransom by his death, and for us 
fulfilled the law in his life. This faith then, whereby we 
are born of God, is " not only a belief of all the articles 
of our faith, but also a true confidence of the mercy of God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ." — Sermons, vol. i, p. 155. 

Now faith (supposing the Scripture to be of God) is 
Kpaytiarov e?.eyx°£ * S/.t-ousvov, the demonstrative evidence of 
things unseen, the supernatural evidence of things invisible, 
not perceivable by eyes of flesh, or by any of our natural 



WESLEYANA— OF FAITH. 



175 



senses or faculties. Faith is that divine evidence whereby 
the spiritual man discerneth God and the things of God. 
It is with regard to the spiritual world what sense is with 
regard to the natural. It is the spiritual sensation of every 
soul that is born of God. 

Faith, according to the Scriptural account, is the eye of 
the new-born soul. Hereby every true believer in God 
" seeth Him who is invisible." Hereby (in a more parti- 
cular manner, since life and immortality have been brought 
to light by the gospel) he " seeth the light of the glory of 
God in the face of Jesus Christ ;" and " beholdeth what 
manner of love it is which the Father hath bestowed upon 
us that we (who are born of the Spirit) should be called 
the sons of God." 

It is the ear of the soul, whereby a sinner " hears the 
voice of the Son of God and lives ;" even that voice which 
alone wakes the dead : " Son, thy sins are forgiven thee." 

It is (if I may be allowed the expression) the palate of 
the soul : for hereby a believer " tastes the good word, 
and the powers of the world to come ;" and hereby he 
both tastes and sees that " God is gracious, yea, and mer- 
ciful to him a sinner." 

It is the feeling of the soul, whereby a believer per- 
ceives, through " the power of the Highest overshadow- 
ing him," both the existence and t the presence of Him in 
whom " he lives, moves, and has his being ;" and indeed 
the whole invisible world, the entire system of things eter- 
nal. And hereby, in particular, he feels " the love of 
God shed abroad in his heart." 

" By this faith we are saved" from all uneasiness of 
mind, from the anguish of a wounded spirit, from discon- 
tent, from fear and sorrow of heart, and from that inex- 
pressible listlessness and weariness, both of the world and 
of ourselves, which we had so helplessly laboured under 
for many years ; especially when we were out of the 



176 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 



hurry of the world, and sunk into calm reflection. In this 
we find that love of God and of all mankind which we 
had elsewhere sought in vain. This, we know and feel, 
and therefore cannot but declare, saves every one that 
partakes of it both from sin and misery, from every un- 
happy and every unholy temper. 

" Soft peace she brings wherever she arrives, 
She builds our quiet as she forms our lives ; 
Lays the rough paths of peevish nature even, 
And opens in each breast a little heaven." 

If you ask, " Why then have not all men this faith ? 
All at least who conceive it to be so happy a thing ? Why 
do they not believe immediately ?" 

We answer, (on the Scripture hypothesis,) " It is the 
gift of God." No man is able to work it in himself. It 
is the work of Omnipotence. It requires no less power 
thus to quicken a dead soul than to raise a body that lies 
in the grave. It is a new creation, and none can create a 
soul anew but He who at first created the heavens and the 
earth. 

May not your own experience teach you this 1 Can 
you give yourself this faith ? Is it now in your power to 
see, or hear, or taste, or feel God ? Have you already, or 
can you raise in yourself, any perception of God, or of an 
invisible world 7 I suppose you do not deny that there is 
an invisible world: you will not charge it in poor old 
Hesiod to Christian prejudice of education when he says 
in those well known words, 

" Millions of unseen creatures walk the earth 
Unseen, whether we wake or if we sleep." 

Now is there any power in your soul whereby you dis- 
cern either these, or Him that created them ? Or can all 
your wisdom and strength open an intercourse between 
yourself and the world of spirits ? Is it in your power to 



WESLEYANA — OF FAITH. 



177 



burst the veil that is on your heart, and let in the light of 
eternity ? You know it is not. You not only do not, but 
cannot (by your own strength) thus believe. The more 
you labour so to do, the more you will be convinced " it 
is the gift of God." 

It is the free gift of "God, which he bestows not on those 
who are worthy of his favour, not on such as are previously 
holy, and so ft to be crowned with all the blessings of his 
goodness : but on the ungodly and unholy : on those who 
till that hour were ft only for everlasting destruction : 
those in whom was no good thing, and whose only plea 
was, " God be merciful to me a sinner." No merit, no 
goodness in man precedes the forgiving love of God. His 
pardoning mercy supposes nothing in us but a sense of 
mere sin and misery : and to all who see and feel, and 
own their wants, and their utter inability to remove them, 
God freely gives faith, for the sake of Him '* in whom he 
is always well pleased." — Works, vol. v, pp. 6, 7. 

SECTION II. 
Its several Kinds. 

The lowest sort of faith, if it be any faith at all, is that 
of a materialist : a man who, like the late Lord Kaimes, 
believes there is nothing but matter in the universe. I 
say, if it be any faith at all; for, properly speaking, it is 
not. It is not " an evidence or conviction of God," for 
they do not believe there is any : neither is it " a convic- 
tion of things not seen ;" for they deny the existence of 
such. Or if, for decency's sake, they allow there is a 
God, yet they suppose even him to be material. For one 
of their maxims is, " Jupiter est quodcunque vides" What- 
ever you see, is God." Whatever you see f A visiWe, 
tangible god ! Excellent divinity! Exquisite nonsense ! 

The second sort of faith, if you allow a materialist to 
8* 



178 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 



have any, is the faith of a deist. I mean, one who believes 
there is a God, distinct from matter ; but does not believe 
the Bible. Of these we may observe two sorts : one sort 
are mere beasts in human shape, wholly under the power 
of the basest passions, and having " a downright appetite 
to mix with mud." Other deists are, in most respects, 
rational creatures, though unhappily prejudiced against 
Christianity. Most of these believe the being and attri- 
butes of God : they believe that God made and governs 
the world ; and that the soul does not die with the body, 
but will remain for ever in a state of happiness or misery. 

The next sort of faith is the faith of heathens, with 
which I join that of Mohammedans. I cannot but prefer 
this before the faith of the deists : because, though it em- 
braces nearly the same objects, yet they are rather to be 
pitied than blamed for the narrowness of their faith. And 
their not believing the whole truth is not owing to want of 
sincerity, but merely to want of light. When one asked 
Chicali, an old Indian chief, " Why do not you, red. men, 
know as much as us white men ?" he readily answered, 
" Because you have the Great Word, and we have not." 

It cannot be doubted but this plea will avail for millions 
of modern heathens. Inasmuch as to them little is given, 
of them little will be required. As to the ancient heathens, 
millions of them likewise were savages. No more, there- 
fore, will be expected of them than the living up to the 
light they had. But many of them, especially in the civil- 
ized nations, we have great reason to hope, although they 
lived among heathens, yet were quite of another spirit ; 
being taught of God, by his inward voice, all the essentials 
of true religion. Yea, and so was that Mohammedan, an 
Arabian, who, a century or two ago, wrote the life of Hai 
Ebn Yokdan. The story seems to be feigned ; but it con- 
tains all the principles of pure religion and undefiled. 

But, in general, we may surely place the faith of a Jew 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 179 

above that of a heathen or Mohammedan. By Jewish faith 
I mean, the faith of those who lived between the giving 
of the law and the coming of Christ. These, that is those 
that were serious and sincere among them, believed all 
that is written in the Old Testament. In particular they 
believed that, in the fulness of time, Messiah would appear 
" to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, and 
bring in everlasting righteousness." 

It is not so easy to pass any judgment concerning the 
faith of our modern Jews. It is plain " the veil is still 
upon their hearts," when Moses and the prophets are read. 
The god of this world still hardens their hearts, and still 
blinds their eyes, " lest at any time the light of the glori- 
ous gospel" should break in upon them. So that we may 
say of this people, as the Holy Ghost said to their forefa- 
thers, " The heart of this people is waxed gross, and their 
ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, 
lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their 
ears, and understand with their hearts, and should be con- 
verted, and I should heal them," Acts xxviii, 27. Yet it 
is not our part to pass sentence upon them, but to leave 
them to their own Master. 

I need not dwell upon the faith of John the Baptist, 
any more than the dispensation which he was under ; be- 
cause these, as Mr. Fletcher well describes them, were 
peculiar to himself. Setting him aside, the faith of the 
Roman Catholics in general seems to be above that of the 
ancient Jews. If most of these are volunteers in faith, 
believing more than God has revealed, it cannot be denied 
that they believe all which God has revealed as necessary 
to salvation. In this we rejoice on their behalf: we are 
glad that none of those new articles which they added at 
the council of Trent to " the faith once delivered to the 
saints," does so materially contradict any of the ancient 
articles as to render them of no effect. 



180 



WESLEY AN A OF FAITH. 



The faith of the Protestants, in general, embraces only 
those truths as necessary to salvation which are clearly 
revealed in the oracles of God. Whatever is plainly de- 
clared in the Old and New Testament, is the object of their 
faith. They believe neither more nor less than what is 
manifestly contained in, and proveable by the Holy Scrip- 
tures. The word of God is " a lantern to their feet, and 
a light in all their paths." They dare not, on any pre- 
tence, go from it to the right hand or to the left. The writ- 
ten word is the whole and sole rule of their faith, as well 
as practice. They believe whatsoever God has declared, 
and profess to do whatsoever he hath commanded. This 
is the proper faith of Protestants : by this they will abide, 
and no other. 

Hitherto faith has been considered chiefly as an evi- 
dence and conviction of such truths. And this is the 
sense wherein it is taken at this day in every part of the 
Christian world. But in the mean time let it be carefully 
observed (for eternity depends upon it) that neither the 
faith of a Roman Catholic, nor that of a Protestant, if it 
contains no more than this, no more than the embracing 
such and such truths, will avail any more before God than 
the faith of a Mohammedan or a heathen ; yea, of a deist 
or materialist. For can this " faith save him ?" Can it 
save any man either from sin or from hell ? No more 
than it could save Judas Iscariot : no more than it could 
save the devil and his angels ; all of whom are convinced 
that every tittle of Holy Scripture is true. 

But what is the faith which is properly saving ; which 
brings eternal salvation to all those that keep it to the end ? 
It is such a divine conviction of God, and the things of 
God, as even, in its infant state, enables every one that 
possesses it to " fear God and work righteousness." And 
whosoever in every nation believes thus far, the apostle 
declares " is accepted of him." He actually is, at that 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 



181 



very moment, in a state of acceptance. But he is at pre- 
sent only a servant of God, not properly a son. Meantime 
let it be well observed, that " the wrath of God" no 
longer " abideth on him." 

It is easy to observe, that all the sorts of faith which 
we can conceive are reducible to one or other of the pre- 
ceding. But let us covet the best gifts, and follow the 
most excellent way. There is no reason why you should 
be satisfied with the faith of a materialist, a heathen, or a 
deist ; nor indeed with that of a servant. I do not know 
that God requires it at your hands. Indeed, if you have 
received this, you ought not to cast it away : you ought 
not in any wise to undervalue it, but to be truly thankful 
for it. Yet in the mean time beware how you rest here : 
press on till you receive the Spirit of adoption. Rest not 
till that Spirit clearly witnesses with your spirit that you 
are a child of God. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 384-386. 

SECTION III. 
To be exercised in God. 

We cannot serve God unless we believe in him. This 
is the only true foundation of serving him. Therefore the 
believing in God as " reconciling the world to himself 
through Christ Jesus," the believing in him as a loving, 
pardoning God, is the first great branch of his service. 

And thus to believe in God implies, to trust in him as 
our strength, without whom we can do nothing, who every 
moment endues us with power from on high, without 
which it is impossible to please him ; as our help, our only 
help in time of trouble, who compasseth us about with 
songs of deliverance ; as our shield, our defender, and the 
lifter up of our head above all our enemies that are round 
about us. 

It implies, to trust in God as our happiness ; as the cen- 



182 



WESLEYANA — OF FAITH. 



tre of spirits ; the only rest of our souls ; the only good 
who is adequate to all our capacities, and sufficient to 
satisfy all the desires he hath given us. 

It implies (what is nearly allied to the other) to trust in 
God as our end ; to have an eye to him in all things ; to 
use all things only as means of enjoying him ; whereso- 
ever we are, or whatsoever we do, to see him that is 
invisible, looking on us well pleased, and to refer all things 
to him in Christ Jesus. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 269, 270. 

SECTION IV. 

The Condition of Justification. 

By affirming that this faith is the term or condition of 
justification, I mean, first, that there is no justification 
without it. " He that believeth not is condemned al- 
ready ;" and so long as he believeth not, that condemna- 
tion cannot be removed, but " the wrath of God abideth 
on him." As " there is no other name given under heaven" 
than that of Jesus of Nazareth, no other merit whereby a 
condemned sinner can ever be saved from the guilt of 
sin ; so there is no other way of obtaining a share in his 
merit than by faith in his name. So that as long as we 
are without this faith we are " strangers to the covenant 
of promise," we are " aliens from the commonwealth of 
Israel, and without God in the world." Whatsoever vir- 
tues (so called) a man may have, — I speak of those unto 
whom the gospel is preached ; for " what have I to do to 
judge them that are without V — whatsoever good works 
(so accounted) he may do, it profit eth. not ; he is still a 
child of wrath, still under the curse, till he believes in 
Jesus. 

Faith, therefore, is the necessary condition of justifica- 
tion. Yea, and the only necessary condition thereof. This 
is the second point carefully to be observed ; that, the 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 



183 



very moment God giveth faith (for it is the gift of God) 
to the " ungodly" that " worketh not," that " faith is 
counted to him for righteousness." He hath no righteous- 
ness at all, antecedent to this, not so much as negative 
righteousness, or innocence. But " faith is imputed to 
him for righteousness" the very moment that he believeth. 
Not that God (as was observed before) thinketh him to be 
what he is not. But as "he made Christ to be sin for 
us," that is, treated him as a sinner, punishing him for our 
sins ; so he counteth us righteous from the time we be- 
lieve in him : that is, he doth not punish us for our sins, 
yea, treats us as though we were guiltless and righteous. 

Surely the difficulty of assenting to the proposition, 
that faith is the only condition of justification, must arise 
from not understanding it. We mean thereby thus much, 
that it is the only thing without which no one is justified ; 
the only thing that is immediately, indispensably, abso- 
lutely requisite in order to pardon. As on the other hand, 
though a man should have every thing else without faith, 
yet he cannot be justified ; so on the other, though he be 
supposed to want every thing else, yet if he has faith, he 
cannot but be justified. For suppose a sinner of any kind 
or degree, in a full sense of his total ungodliness, of his 
utter inability to think, speak, or do good, and his absolute 
meetness for hell fire ; suppose, I say, this sinner, help- 
less, and hopeless, casts himself wholly on the mercy of 
God in Christ, (which indeed he cannot do but by the grace 
of God,) who can doubt but he is forgiven in that moment? 
Who will affirm that any more is indispensably required, 
before that sinner can be justified ? 

Now if there ever was one such instance from the be- 
ginning of the world, (and have there not been, and are 
there not, ten thousand times ten thousand?) it plainly fol- 
lows, that faith is, in the above sense, the sole condition 
of justification. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 50, 51. 



184 



WESLEYANA — OF FAITH. 



SECTION V. 
Its Fruits. 

" He cried unto the Lord in his trouble, and God deli- 
vered him out of his distress." His eyes are opened in 
quite another manner than before, even to see a loving, 
graeious God. While he is calling, " I beseech thee, 
show me thy glory !" he hears a voice in his inmost soul, 
" I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will 
proclaim the name of the Lord : I will be gracious to whom 
I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will 
show mercy." And it is not long before " the Lord de- 
scends in the cloud, and proclaims the name of the Lord." 
Then he sees, but not with eyes of flesh and blood, " the 
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, 
and abundant in goodness and truth ; keeping mercy for 
thousands, and forgiving iniquities, and transgressions, 
and sin." 

Heavenly, healing light, now breaks in upon his soul. 
He " looks on Him whom he had pierced ;" and " God, 
who out of darkness commanded light to shine, shineth in 
his heart." He sees the light of the glorious love of God, 
in the face of Jesus Christ. He hath a divine " evidence 
of things not seen" by sense, even of " the deep things 
of God;" more particularly of the love of God, of his par- 
doning love to him that believes in Jesus. Overpowered 
with the sight, his whole soul cries out, <c My Lord and 
my God !" For he sees all his iniquities laid on Him who 
" bare them in his own body on the tree ;" he beholds the 
Lamb of God taking away his sins. How clearly now does 
he discern that " God was in Christ reconciling the world 
unto himself ; making him sin for us who knew no sin, 
that we might be made the righteousness of God through 



WESLEYANA OF FAITH. 



185 



him f and that he himself is reconciled to God by that 
blood of the covenant ! 

Here end both the guilt and power of sin. He can now 
say, " I am crucified with Christ ; nevertheless I live ; yet 
not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now 
live in the flesh (even in this mortal body) I live by faith 
in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for 
me." Here end remorse and sorrow of heart, and the 
anguish of a wounded spirit. " God turneth his heaviness 
into joy." He made sore, and now his hands bind up. 
Here ends also that bondage unto fear; for "his heart 
standeth fast, believing in the Lord." He cannot fear any 
longer the wrath of God, for he knows it is now turned 
away from him, and looks upon him no more as an angry 
judge, but as a loving father. He cannot fear the devil, 
knowing he has " no power except it be given him from 
above." He fears not hell ; being an heir of the kingdom 
of heaven: consequently, he has no fear of death; by 
reason whereof he was, in times past, for so many years, 
" subject to bondage." Rather, knowing that " if the 
earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, he hath a 
building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in 
the heavens ; he groaneth earnestly, desiring to be clothed 
upon with that house which is from heaven." He groans 
to shake off this house of earth, that mortality may be 
swallowed up of life ; knowing that God " hath wrought 
him for the self-same thing ; who hath also given him the 
earnest of his Spirit." 

And " where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty :" 
liberty, not only from guilt and fear, but from sin, from that 
heaviest of all yokes, that basest of all bondage. His 
labour is not now in vain. The snare is broken, and he is 
delivered. He not only strives, but likewise prevails ; he 
not only fights, but conquers also. " Henceforth he doth 
not serve sin," Rom. vi, 6, &c. " He is dead unto sin, 



186 



WESLEY ANA — OF FAITH. 



and alive unto God ;" " sin doth not now reign/ 5 even H in 
his mortal body," nor doth he " obey it in the desires 
thereof." He does not " yield his members as instru- 
ments of unrighteousness unto sin, but as instruments of 
righteousness unto God." For " being now made free 
from sin, he is become the servant of righteousness." 

Thus, " having peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ," " rejoicing in hope of the glory of God," and hav- 
ing power over all sin, over every evil desire, and temper, 
and word, and work, he is a living witness of the " glorious 
liberty of the sons of God :" all of whom, being partakers 
of like precious faith, bear record with one voice, " We 
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 
Abba, Father !" — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 81, 82. 

An immediate and constant fruit of this faith whereby 
we are born of God, a fruit which can in no wise be sepa- 
rated from it, no, not for an hour, is power over sin ; — 
power over outward sin of every kind ; over every evil 
word and work ; for wheresoever the blood of Christ is 
thus applied, it " purgeth the conscience from dead works ;" 
and over inward sin ; for it purifleth the heart from every 
unholy desire and temper. This fruit of faith St. Paul has 
largely described in the sixth chapter of his epistle to the 
Romans. " How shall we," saith he, " who [by faith] are 
dead to sin, live any longer therein?" " Our old man is 
crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be de- 
stroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." " Like- 
wise reckon ye yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive 
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin 
therefore reign [even] in your mortal body," " but yield 
yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead." 
" For sin shall not have dominion over you. God be 
thanked that ye were the servants of sin, — but being made 
free," — the plain meaning is, God be thanked that though 
ye were, in time past, the servants of sin, yet now "being 



WESLEYANA OE FAITH. 



187 



free from sin, ye are become the servants of righteous- 
ness." 

The same invaluable privilege of the sons of God is as 
strongly asserted by St. John ; particularly with regard to 
the former branch of it, namely, power over outward sin. 
After he had been crying out, as one astonished at the 
depth of the riches of the goodness of God, " Behold 
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, 
that we should be called the sons of God ! Beloved, now 
are we the sons of God : and it doth not yet appear what 
we shall be ; but we know that, when he shall appear, we 
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is," 1 John 
iii, 1, &c. ; he soon adds, "Whosoever is born of God 
doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him ; and 
he cannot sin, because he is bom of God," ver. 9. But 
some men will say, " True ; whosoever is born of God 
doth not commit sin habitually." Habitually ! whence is 
that ? I read it not. It is not written in the book. God 
plainly saith, " He doth not commit sin ;" and thou addest, 
habitually ! Who art thou that mendest the oracles of God 1 
—that " addest to the words of this book ?" Beware, I 
beseech thee, lest God " add to thee all the plagues that 
are written therein." Especially when the comment thou 
addest is such as quite swallows up the text : so that by 
this ftedodeia kTicivtic, this artful method of deceiving, the 
precious promise is utterly lost ; by this nvfieia avtipuizuv^ 
this tricking and shuffling of men, the word of God is 
made of none effect. O beware, thou that thus takest from 
the words of this book, that, taking away the whole mean- 
ing and spirit from them, leavest only what may indeed be 
termed a dead letter, lest God take away thy part out of 
the book of life ! 

Suffer we the apostle to interpret his own words by 
the whole tenour of his discourse. In the fifth verse of 
this chapter he had said, " Ye know that he [Christ] was 



188 



WESLEYANA OF JUSTIFICATION 



manifested to take away our sins ; and in him is no sin." 
What is the inference he draws from this 7 " Whosoever 
abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not 
seen him, neither known him," chap, iii, 5. To his en- 
forcement of this important doctrine he premises a highly 
necessary caution, " Little children, let no man deceive 
you," (verse 7 ;) for many will endeavour so to do ; to 
persuade you that you may be unrighteous, that you may 
commit sin, and yet be children of God : " he that doeth 
righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He 
that committeth sin is of the devil ; for the devil sinneth 
from the beginning." Then follows, " Whosoever is born 
of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : 
and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this," 
adds the apostle, " the children of God are manifest, and 
the children of the devil." By this plain mark (the com- 
mitting or not committing sin) are they distinguished 
from each other. To the same effect are those words in his 
fifth chapter, " We know that whosoever is born of God 
sinneth not : but he that is begotten of God keepeth him- 
self, and that wicked one toucheth him not," verse 18. 
Sermons, vol. i. pp. 155, 156. 



CHAPTER X. 
OF JUSTIFICATION. 



SECTION I. 
Its Nature. 

The plain Scriptural notion of justification is, pardon, 
the forgiveness of sins. It is the act of God the Father, 
whereby, for the sake of the propitiation made by the 



WESLEYANA— OF JUSTIFICATION. 



180 



blood of his Son, he M showeth forth his righteousness 
(or mercy) by the remission of the sins that are past." 
This is the easy, natural account of it, given by St. Paul 
throughout this whole epistle [to the Romans.] So he 
explains it himself, more particularly in this and the fol- 
lowing chapters, iii, iv. Thus, in the next verse but one to 
the text, " Blessed are they," saith he, " whose iniquities 
are forgiven, and whose sins are covered : blessed is the 
man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." To him that 
is justified or forgiven, God " will not impute sin" to his 
condemnation. He will not condemn him on that account, 
either in this world, or in that which is to come. His 
sins, all his past sins, in thought, word, and deed, are 
covered, are blotted out, shall not be remembered or men- 
tioned against him any more than if they had not been. 
God will not inflict on that sinner what he deserved to 
suffer, because the Son of his love hath suffered for him. 
And from the time we are " accepted through the Beloved," 
" reconciled to God through his blood," he loves, and 
blesses, and watches over us for good, even as if we had 
never sinned. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 47, 48. 

Justification is another word for pardon. It is the for- 
giveness of all our sins ; and, what is necessarily implied 
therein, our acceptance with God. The price whereby 
this hath been procured for us (commonly termed the 
meritorious cause of our justification) is the blood and 
righteousness of Christ ; or, to express it a little more 
clearly, all that Christ hath done and suffered for us, till 
he " poured out his soul for the transgressors." The im- 
mediate effects of justification are, the peace of God, 
" peace that passeth all understanding," and a " rejoicing 
in hope of the glory of God," " with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory." — Sermons, vol. i, p. 385. 



190 



WESLEYANA — OF JUSTIFICATION. 



SECTION II. 
Christ its meritorious Cause. 

In this state we were, even all mankind, when " God 
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, to 
the end we might not perish, but have everlasting life." 
In the fulness of time he was made man, another common 
head of mankind, a second general parent and representa- 
tive of the whole human race. And as such it was that 
" he bore our griefs," " the Lord laying upon him the ini- 
quities of us all." Then was he " wounded for our trans- 
gressions, and bruised for our iniquities." " He made his 
soul an offering for sin :" he poured out his blood for the 
transgressors: he " bare our sins in his own body on the 
tree," that by his stripes we might be healed : and by that 
one oblation of himself, once offered, he hath redeemed 
me and all mankind ; having thereby " made a full, per- 
fect, and sufficient sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins 
of the whole world." 

In consideration of this, that the Son of God hath " tasted 
death for every man," God hath now tX reconciled the 
world to himself, not imputing to them their former 
trespasses." And thus, " as, by the offence of one, judg- 
ment came upon all men to condemnation, even so, by the 
righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto 
justification." So that, for the sake of his well-beloved 
Son, of what he hath done and suffered for us, God now 
vouchsafes, on one only condition, (which himself also 
enables us to perform,) both to remit the punishment due 
to our sins, to reinstate us in his favour, and to restore our 
dead souls to spiritual life, as the earnest of life eternal. 

This, therefore, is the general ground of the whole 
doctrine of justification. By the sin of the first Adam, 
who was not only the father, but likewise the representa- 



WESLEYANA OF REGENERATION. 191 



live of us all, we all fell short of the favour of God ; we 
all became children of wrath ; or, as the apostle expresses 
it, "judgment came upon all men to condemnation. " Even 
so, by the sacrifice for sin made by the second Adam, as 
the representative of us all, God is so far reconciled to all 
the world, that he hath given them a new covenant ; the 
plain condition whereof being once fulfilled, " there is no 
more condemnation" for us, but " we are justified freely by 
his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." 
Sermons, vol. i, pp. 45, 46. 



CHAPTER XL 

OF REGENERATION. 

SECTION I. 
Its Nature. 

The expression, being born again, was not first used 
by our Lord in his conversation with Nicodemus : it was 
well known before that time, and was in common use 
among the Jews when our Saviour appeared among them. 
When an adult heathen was convinced that the Jewish 
religion was of God, and desired to join therein, it was 
the custom to baptize him first, before he was admitted to 
circumcision. And when he was baptized he was said to 
be born again ; by which they meant, that he who was be- 
fore a child of the devil was now adopted into the family 
of God, and accounted one of his children. This expres- 
sion therefore, which Nicodemus, " being a teacher in 
Israel," ought to have understood well, our Lord uses in 
conversing with him ; only in a stronger sense than he 
was accustomed to. And this might be the reason of his 



192 



WESLE TAX A — OF REGENERATION", 



asking, "How can these things be? 5 ' They cannot be 
literally : a man cannot " enter a second time into his mo- 
ther's womb and be born but they may spiritually : a 
man may be born from above, born of God, born of the 
Spirit, in a maimer which bears a very near analogy to 
the natural birth. 

Before a child is born into the world he has eyes, but 
sees not; he has ears, but does not hear. He has a very 
imperfect use of even* other sense. He has no know- 
ledge of any of the things of the world, or any natural 
understanding. To that manner of existence which he 
then has we do not even give the name of life. It is then 
only when a man is born that we say he begins to live. 
For as soon as he is born he begins to see the light, and 
the various objects with which he is encompassed. His 
ears are then opened, and he hears the sounds which suc- 
cessively strike upon them. At the same time all the 
organs of sense begin to be exercised upon their proper 
objects. He likewise breathes and lives in a manner 
wholly different from what he did before. How exactly 
doth the parallel hold in all these instances ! While a 
man is in a mere natural state, before he is born of God, 
he has, in a spiritual sense, eyes, and sees not ; a thick, 
impenetrable veil lies upon them : he has ears, but hears 
not ; he is utterly deaf to what he is most of all concerned 
to hear. His other spiritual senses are all locked up : he 
is in the same condition as if he had them not. Hence he 
has no knowledge of God ; no intercourse with him ; he 
is not at all acquainted with him. He has no true know- 
ledge of the things of God, either of spiritual or eternal 
things ; therefore, though he is a living man, he is a dead 
Christian. But as soon as he is born of God, there is a 
total change in all these particulars. The " eyes of his 
understanding are opened," (such is the language of the 
great apostle.) and He, who of old " commanded light to 



WESLEYANA — OF REGENERATION, 193 

shine out of darkness," shining on his heart, he sees " the 
light of the glory of God," his glorious love, " in the face 
of Jesus Christ." His ears being opened, he is now ca- 
pable of hearing the inward voice of God saying, " Be of 
good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee ;" " go, and sin no 
more." This is the purport of what God speaks to his 
heart ; although, perhaps, not in these very words. He 
is now ready to hear whatsoever " He that teacheth man 
knowledge" is pleased from time to time to reveal to him. 
He " feels in his heart (to use the language of our church) 
the mighty working of the Spirit of God ;" not in a gross, 
carnal sense, as the men of the world stupidly and wilfully 
misunderstand the expression ; though they have been 
told, again and again, we mean thereby neither more nor 
less than this : he feels, is inwardly sensible of the graces 
which the Spirit of God works in his heart. He feels, he 
is conscious of, a u peace which passeth all understand- 
ing." He many times feels such a joy in God as is " un- 
speakable and full of glory." He feels " the love of God 
shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost which is 
given unto him ;" and all his spiritual senses are then ex- 
ercised to discern spiritual good and evil. By the use of 
these he is daily increasing in the knowledge of God, of 
Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent, and of all the things 
pertaining to his inward kingdom. And now he may be 
properly said to live : God having quickened him by his 
Spirit, he is alive to God through Jesus Christ. He lives 
a life which the world knoweth not of, a " life which is 
hid with Christ in God." God is continually breathing, as 
it were, upon the soul ; and his soul is breathing unto God. 
Grace is descending into his heart ; and prayer and praise 
ascending to heaven : and by this intercourse between 
God and man, this fellowship with the Father and the 
Son, as by a kind of spiritual respiration, the life of God 
in the soul is sustained ; and the child of God grows up 

9 



194 



WESLEY AN A OF REGENERATION. 



till he comes to the " full measure of the stature of Christ." 
Sermons^ vol. i, pp. 402, 403. 

The new birth is not the same with sanctification. This 
is indeed taken for granted by many ; particularly by an 
eminent writer in his late treatise on " The nature and 
grounds of Christian regeneration." To waive several 
other weighty objections which might be made to that 
tract, this is a palpable one : it all along speaks of rege- 
neration as a progressive work, carried on in the soul by 
slow degrees, from the time of our first turning to God. 
This is undeniably true of sanctification ; but of regenera- 
tion, the new birth, it is not true. This is a part of sanc- 
tification, not the whole ; it is the gate to it, the entrance 
into it. When we are born again, then our sanctification, 
our inward and outward holiness, begins ; and thencefor- 
ward we are gradually to " grow up in Him who is our 
head." This expression of the apostle admirably illus- 
trates the difference between one and the other, and far- 
ther points out the exact analogy there is between natural 
and spiritual things. A child is born of a woman in a mo- 
ment, or at least in a very short time : afterward he gra- 
dually and slowly grows, till he attains to the stature of a 
man. In like manner a child is born of God in a short 
time, if not in a moment. But it is by slow degrees that 
he afterward grows up to the measure of the full stature 
of Christ. The same relation, therefore, which there is 
between our natural birth and our growth, there is also be- 
tween our new birth and our sanctincation. — Sermons, vol. 
i, pp. 405, 406. 

SECTION It 
Its Evidences. 

Thus have I plainly laid down those marks of the new 
birth which I find laid down in Scripture. Thus doth God 



WESLEYANA OF SANCTIFICATION. 195 

himself answer that weighty question, What is it to be 
born of God ? Such, if the appeal be made to the oracles 
of God, is " every one that is born of the Spirit." This it 
is, in the judgment of the Spirit of God, to be a son or a 
child of God. It is so to believe in God, through Christ, 
as " not to commit sin," and to enjoy, at all times and in 
all places, that " peace of God which passeth all under- 
standing." It is so to hope in God, through the Son of his 
love, as to have not only the " testimony of a good con- 
science," but also the Spirit of God " bearing witness with 
your spirits that ye are the children of God ;" whence 
cannot but spring the rejoicing evermore in Him through 
whom ye " have received the atonement." It is so to love 
God, who hath thus loved you, as you never did love any 
creature : so that ye are constrained to love all men as 
yourselves ; with a love not only ever burning in your 
hearts, but flaming out in all your actions and conversa- 
tion, and making your whole life one " labour of love," 
one continued obedience to those commands, " Be ye mer- 
ciful, as God is merciful :" " Be ye holy, as I the Lord am 
holy ;" " Be ye perfect, as your Father which is in heaven 
is perfect." — Sermons, vol. i, p. 160. 



CHAPTER XII. 

OF SANCTIFICATION, OR CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

SECTION I. 
Its Nature. 

From the time of our being born again, the gradual 
work of sanctification takes place. We are enabled " by 



196 WESLEY AX A OF SANCTIFICATIOX. 



the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the body," of our evil 
nature ; and as we are more and more dead to sin, we are 
more and more alive to God. We go on from grace to 
grace, while we are careful to " abstain from all appear- 
ance of evil," and are " zealous of good works," as we 
I have opportunity of doing good to all men ; while we walk 
in all his ordinances blameless, therein worshipping him 
in spirit and in truth ; while we take up our cross, and 
deny ourselves every pleasure that does not lead us to 
God. i - 

It is thus that we wait for entire sanctiflcation ; for a 
full salvation from all our sins, — from pride, self-will, an- 
ger, unbelief ; or, as the apostle expresses it, " go on unto 
perfection." But what is perfection? The word has 
various senses : here it means perfect love. It is love 
excluding sin ; love filling the heart, taking up the whole 
capacity of the soul. It is love " rejoicing evermore, pray- 
ing without ceasing, in every thing giving thanks." — Ser- 
mons, vol. i, p. 386. 

What is holiness, according to the oracles of God? Not 
a bare external religion, a round of outward duties, how 
many soever they be, and how exactly soever performed. 
No : gospel holiness is no less than the image of God 
stamped upon the heart ; it is no other than the whole 
mind which was in Christ Jesus ; it consists of all heavenly 
affections and tempers mingled together in one. It im- 
plies such a continual, thankful love to Him who hath not 
withheld from us his Son, his only Son, as makes it natu- 
ral, and in a manner necessary to us, to love every child 
of man ; as fills us " with bowels of mercies, kindness, 
gentleness, long-suffering." It is such a love of God as 
teaches us to be blameless in all manner of conversation ; 
as enables us to present our souls and bodies, all we are, 
and all we have, all our thoughts, words, and actions, a 
continual sacrifice to God, acceptable through Christ Jesus. 



WESLEYANA — OF SANCTIFICATION. 197 



Now this holiness can have no existence till we are re- 
newed in the image of our mind. It cannot commence in 
the soul till that change be wrought ; till, by the power of 
the Highest overshadowing us, we are " brought from 
darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God ; that 
is, till we are born again ; which therefore is absolutely 
necessary in order to holiness. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 403, 
404. 

The highest perfection which man can attain, while the 
soul dwells in the body, does not exclude ignorance, and 
error, and a thousand other infirmities. Now from wrong 
judgments, wrong words and actions will often necessa- 
rily flow : and in some cases, wrong affections also may 
spring from the same source. I may judge wrong of you ; 
I may think more or less highly of you than I ought to 
think; and this mistake in my judgment may not only 
occasion something wrong in my behaviour, but it may 
have a still deeper effect ; it may occasion something 
wrong in my affection. From a wrong apprehension, I 
may love and esteem you either more or less than I ought. 
Nor can I be freed from a liableness to such a mistake 
while I remain in a corruptible body. A thousand infirm- 
ities, in consequence of this, will attend my spirit, till it 
returns to God who gave it. And, in numberless instan- 
ces, it comes short of doing the will of God, as Adam did 
in paradise. Hence the best of men may say from the 
heart, 

" Every moment, Lord, I need 
The merit of thy death 

for innumerable violations of the Adamic, as well as the 
angelic law. It is well, therefore, for us, that we are not 
now under these, but under the law of love. " Love is 
[now] the fulfilling of the law," which is given to fallen 
man. This is now, with respect to us, " the perfect law," 



198 WESLEY AN A- — OF SANCTIFICATION. 



But even against this, through, the present weakness of 
our understanding, we are continually liable to transgress. 
Therefore every man living needs the blood of atone- 
ment, or he could not stand before God. 

"What is then the perfection of which man is capable, 
while he dwells in a corruptible body 1 It is the comply- 
ing with that land command, " My son, give me thy heart." 
It is the " loving the Lord his God with all his heart, and 
with all his soul, and with all his mind." This is the sum 
of Christian perfection : it is all comprised in that one 
word, love. The first branch of it is the love of God : and 
as he that loves God loves his brother also, it is insepa- 
rably connected with the second ; " Thou shalt love thy 
neighbour as thyself :" thou shalt love every man as thy 
own soul, as Christ loved us. " On these two command- 
ments hang all the law and the prophets : ,J these contain 
the whole of Christian perfection. 

Another view of this is given us in those words of the 
great apostle, " Let this mind be in you which was also 
in Christ Jesus." For although this immediately and 
directly refers to the humility of our Lord, yet it may be 
taken in a far more extensive sense, so as to include the 
whole disposition of his mind, all his affections, all his 
tempers, both toward God and man. Now it is certain that 
as there was no evil affection in him, so no good affection or 
temper was wanting. So that " whatsoever things are 
holy, whatsoever things are lovely," are all included in 
" the mind that was in Christ Jesus." 

St. Paul, when writing to the Galatians, places perfec- 
tion in yet another view. It is the one undivided fruit of 
the Spirit, which he describes thus : M The fruit of the 
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, good- 
ness, fidelity," (so the word should be translated here,) 
" meekness, temperance." What a glorious constellation 
of grace is here ! Now suppose all these things to be knit 



WESLEYANA OF SANCTIFICATION. 



199 



together in one, to be united together in the soul of a be- 
liever, this is Christian perfection. 

Again : he writes to the Christians at Ephesus, of " put- 
ting on the new man, which is created after God in right- 
eousness and true holiness :" and to the Colossians, of 
" the new man renewed after the image of him that created 
him :" plainly referring to the words in Genesis, chap, i, 
27, " So God created man in his own image." Now the 
moral image of God consists (as the apostle observes) " in 
righteousness and true holiness." By sin this is totally 
destroyed. And we never can recover it till we are " cre- 
ated anew in Christ Jesus." And this is perfection. 

St. Peter expresses it in a still different manner, though 
to the same effect : " As he that hath called you is holy, 
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation," 1 Pet. i, 
15. According to this apostle, then, perfection is another 
name for universal holiness ; inward and outward right- 
eousness ; holiness of life arising from holiness of heart. 

If any expressions can be stronger than these, they are 
those of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, 1st Epistle v, 23, 
" The God of peace himself sanctify you wholly ; and may 
the whole of you, the spirit, the soul, and the body, [this 
is the literal translation,] be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

We cannot show this sanctification in a more excellent 
way than by complying with that exhortation of the apos- 
tle, " I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that 
ye present your bodies [yourselves, your souls and bodies ; 
a part put for the whole, by a common figure of speech] 
a living sacrifice unto God ;" to whom ye were consecrated 
many years ago in baptism. When what was then devoted 
is actually presented to God, then is the man of God per- 
fect. 

To the same effect St. Peter says, 1st Epistle ii, 5, " Ye 
are a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, ac- 



200 



WESLEYANA OF SANCTIFICATION. 



ceptable to God through Jesus Christ." But what sacri- 
fices shall we offer now, seeing the Jewish dispensation 
is at an end ? If } r ou have truly presented yourselves to 
God, you offer up to hirn continually all your thoughts, and 
words, and actions, through the Son of his love, as a sa- 
crifice of praise and thanksgiving. 

Thus you experience that He whose name is called 
Jesus does not bear that name in vain : that he does, in 
fact, " save his people from their sins ;" the root, as well 
as the branches. And this salvation from sin, from all 
sin, is another description of perfection, though indeed it 
expresses only the least, the lowest branch of it ; only the 
negative part of the great salvation. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp.' 
168-170. 

SECTION n. 
How to be sought. 

" But what is that faith whereby we are sanctified ? 
saved from sin, and perfected in love ?" It is a divine 
evidence and conviction, First, that God hath promised it 
in the Holy Scripture. Till we are thoroughly satisfied 
of this there is no moving one step farther. And one would 
imagine there needed not one word more to satisfy a rea- 
sonable man of this than the ancient promise, " Then will 
I circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy mind/' How clearly does this express the 
being perfected in love ! — how strongly imply the being 
saved from all sin ! For as long as love takes up the 
whole heart, what room is there for sin therein ? 

It is a divine evidence and conviction, secondly, that 
what God hath promised he is able to perform. Admit- 
ting, therefore, that " with men it is impossible" <: to bring 
a clean thing out of an unclean," to purify the heart from 



WESLEYANA— OF SANCTIFICATION. 201 



all sin, and to fill it with all holiness ; yet this creates no 
difficulty in the case, seeing " with God all things are pos- 
sible." And surely no one ever imagined it was possible 
to any power less than that of the Almighty ! But if God 
speaks it shall be done. God saith, " Let there be light ; 
and there [is] light." 

It is, thirdly, a divine evidence and conviction that he 
is able and willing to do it now. And why not ? Is not 
a moment to him the same as a thousand years ? He can- 
not want more time to accomplish whatever is his will. 
And he cannot want to stay for any more worthiness or fit- 
ness in the persons he is pleased to honour. We may there- 
fore boldly say, at any point of time, " Now is the day of 
salvation !" " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not 
your hearts." " Behold all things are now ready, come 
unto the marriage." 

To this confidence, that God is both able and willing to 
sanctify us now, there needs to be added one thing more, 
a divine evidence and conviction that he doeth it. In 
that hour it is done : God says to the inmost soul, " Ac- 
cording to thy faith be it unto thee." Then the soul is 
pure from every spot of sin ; it is clean " from all unright- 
eousness." The believer then experiences the deep 
meaning of those solemn words, " If we walk in the light 
as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another, 
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from 
all sin." 

" But does God work this great work in the soul gradu- 
ally or instantaneously ?" Perhaps it may be gradually 
wrought in some : I mean in this sense, they do not advert 
to the particular moment wherein sin ceases to be. But 
it is infinitely desirable, were it the will of God, that it 
should be d^ne instantaneously; that the Lord should 
destroy sin " by the breath of his mouth," in a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye. And so he generally does : 
9* 



202 



WESLEYANA— OF SANCTIFICATION. 



a plain fact of which there is evidence enough to satisfy 
any unprejudiced person. Thou, therefore, look for it 
every moment. Look for it in the way above described ; 
in all those good works whereunto thou art " created anew 
in Christ Jesus." There is then no danger : you can be 
no worse, if you are no better for that expectation. For 
w^ere you to be disappointed of your hope, still you lose 
nothing. But you shall not be disappointed of your hope : 
it will come, and will not tarry. Look for it then every 
day, every hour, every moment. Why not this hour, this 
moment ? Certainly you may look for it now, if you 
believe it is by faith. And by this token you may surely 
know whether you seek it by faith or by works. If by 
works, you want something to be tone first, before you are 
sanctified. You think, I must first be or do thus or thus. 
Then you are seeking it by works unto this day. If you 
seek it by faith, you may expect it as you are ; and if as 
you are, then expect it now. It is of importance to observe, 
that there is an inseparable connection between these 
three points, — expect it by faith; expect it as you are; 
and, expect it now. To deny one of them is to deny them 
all. To allow one is to allow them all. Do you believe 
we are sanctified by faith? Be true then to your princi- 
ple ; and look for this blessing just as you are, neither 
better nor worse ; as a poor sinner that has still nothing to 
pay, nothing to plead, but, Christ died. And if you look 
for it as you are, then expect it now. Stay for nothing : 
why should you ? Christ is ready ; and he is all you 
want. He is waiting for you : he is at the door ! Let 
your inmost soul cry out, 

" Come in, come in, thou heavenly Guest, 
Nor hence again remove ; 
But sup with me, and let the feast 
Be everlasting love." 

Sermons, vol. i, pp. 390, 391. 



WESLEYANA OF SALVATION. 



203 



CHAPTER XIII. 

OF SALVATION, 

SECTION t 
Its Nature. 

Salvation begins with what is usually termed (and 
very properly) preventing grace : including the first wish 
to please God ; the first dawn of light concerning his will ; 
and the first slight transient conviction of having sinned 
against him. All these imply some tendency toward life ; 
some degree of salvation ; the beginning of a deliverance 
from a blind, unfeeling heart, quite insensible of God and 
the things of God. Salvation is carried on by convincing 
grace, usually in Scripture termed repentance; which 
brings a larger measure of self-knowledge, and a farther 
deliverance from the heart of stone. Afterward we expe- 
rience the proper Christian salvation ; whereby, " through 
grace," we " are saved by faith ;" consisting of those two 
grand branches, justification and sanctification. By justi- 
fication we are saved from the guilt of sin, and restored to 
the favour of God ; by sanctification we are saved from the 
power and root of sin, and restored to the image of God. 
All experience, as well as Scripture, show this salvation 
to be both instantaneous and gradual. It begins the mo- 
ment we are justified, in the holy, humble, gentle, patient 
love of God and man. It gradually increases from that 
moment, as " a grain of mustard seed, which, at first, is 
the least of all seeds," but afterward puts forth large 
branches, and becomes a great tree : till, in another in- 
stant, the heart is cleansed from all sin, and filled with 
pure love to God and man. But even that love increases 
more and more, till we " grow up in all things into Him 



204 



WESLEYANA OF SALVATION. 



that is our head till we " attain the measure of the stature 
of the fulness of Christ."— Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 235, 236, 

And, first, let us inquire, What is salvation ? The sal- 
vation which is here spoken of, Eph. ii, 8, is not what 
is frequently understood by that word, the going to heaven, 
eternal happiness. It is not the souPs going to paradise, 
termed by our Lord, " Abraham's bosom." It is not a 
blessing which lies on the other side death ; or, as we 
usually speak, in the other world. The very words of 
the text itself put this beyond all question : " Ye are saved " 
It is not something at a distance ; it is a present thing ; 
a blessing which, through the free mercy of God, ye are 
now in possession of. Nay, the words may be rendered, 
and that with equal propriety, " Ye have been saved:" so 
that the salvation which is here spoken of might be ex- 
tended to the entire work of God, from the first dawning 
of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory. 

If we take this in its utmost extent, it will include all 
that is wrought in the soul by what is frequently termed 
natural conscience, but more properly, preventing grace ; 
all the drawings of the Father ; the desires after God 
which, if we yield to them, increase more and more ; all 
that light wherewith the Son of God " enlighteneth every 
one that cometh into the world ;" showing every man " to 
do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with his 
God ;" all the convictions which his Spirit, from time to 
time, works in every child of man ; although, it is true, 
the generality of men stifle them as soon as possible, and 
after a while forget, or at least deny, that they ever had 
them at all. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 384, 385. 



WESLEYANA — OF SALVATION. 



205 



SECTION II. 
Its Extent. 

Ye are saved (to comprise all in one word) from sin. 
This is the salvation which is through faith. This is that 
great salvation foretold by the angel, before God brought 
his First-begotten into the world : " Thou shalt call his 
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." 
And neither here, nor in other parts of holy writ, is there 
any limitation or restriction. All his people, or, as it is 
elsewhere expressed, " all that believe in him," he will 
save from all their sins ; from original and actual, past 
and present sin, " of the flesh and of the spirit." Through 
faith that is in him they are saved both from the guilt 
and from the power of it. 

First, from the guilt of all past sin : for, whereas all the 
world is guilty before God, insomuch that should he "be 
extreme to mark what is done amiss, there is none that 
could abide it ;" and whereas " by the law is" only " the 
knowledge of sin," but no deliverance from it, so that " by 
fulfilling the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified in 
his sight ;" now " the righteousness of God, which is by 
faith of Jesus Christ, is manifested unto all that believe." 
Now " they are justified freely by his grace, through the 
redemption that is in Jesus Christ." " Him God hath set 
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood ; to 
declare his righteousness for (or by) the remission of the 
sins that are past." Now hath Christ taken away " the 
curse of the law, being made a curse for us." He hath 
" blotted out the hand-writing that was against us, taking 
it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." " There is, 
therefore, no condemnation now to them which" believe in 
Christ Jesus. 

And being saved from guilt, they are saved from fear. 



206 



WESLEYANA— OF SALVATION. 



Not indeed from a filial fear of offending ; but, from all 
servile fear ; from that fear which hath torment ; from fear 
of punishment ; from fear of the wrath of God, whom they 
now no longer regard as a severe master, but as an indul- 
gent father.- " They have not received again the spirit 
of bondage, but the Spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, 
Abba, Father ; the Spirit itself also bearing witness with 
their spirits that they are the children of God." They are 
also saved from the fear, though not from the possibility 
of falling away from the grace of God, and coming short of 
the great and precious promises : they are " sealed with 
the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of their 
inheritance," Eph. i, 13. Thus have they " peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. They rejoice in 
hope of the glory of God. And the love of God is shed 
abroad in their hearts, through the Holy Ghost, which is 
given unto them." And hereby they are persuaded, 
(though perhaps not at all times, nor with the same fulness 
of persuasion,) that " neither death, nor life, nor things 
present, northings to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate them from the love 
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Again, through this faith they are saved from the power 
of sin, as well as from the guilt of it. So the apostle 
declares, "Ye know that he was manifested to take away 
our sins, and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him 
sinneth not," 1 John iii, 5, &c. Again, cC Little children, 
let no man deceive you. He that committeth sin is of 
the devil. Whosoever belie veth is bom of God. And 
whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his 
seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin because he is 
born of God." Once more, " We know that whosoever 
is born of God sinneth not : but he that is begotten of God 
keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not," 
1 John v, 18. 



WESLEYANA — OF SALVATION. 207 

He that is, by faith, born of God, sinneth not : 1. By any 
habitual sin ; for ail habitual sin is sin reigning : but sin 
cannot reign in any that belie veth. Nor, 2. By any wilful 
sin, for his will, while he abideth in the faith, is utterly set 
against all sin, and abhorreth it as deadly poison. Nor, 3. 
By any sinful desire ; for he continually desireth the holy 
and perfect will of God ; and any tendency to an unholy 
desire, he, by the grace of God, stifleth in the birth. Nor, 
4. Doth he sin by infirmities, whether in act, word, or 
thought : for his infirmities have no concurrence of his 
will ; and without this they are not properly sins. Thus 
" he that is born of God doth not commit sin." And though 
he cannot say he hath not sinned, yet now " he sinneth 
not." 

This then is the salvation which is through faith, even 
in the present world : a salvation from sin, and the conse- 
quences of sin, both often expressed in the word justifica- 
tion ; which, taken in the largest sense, implies, a deliver- 
ance from guilt and punishment by the atonement of Christ 
actually applied to the soul of the sinner now believing on 
him, and a deliverance from the whole body of sin, through 
Christ formed in his heart. So that he who is thus justi- 
fied, or saved by faith, is indeed born again. He is born 
again of the Spirit unto a new life " which is hid with 
Christ in God." " He is a new creature : old things are 
passed away: all things in him are become new." And 
as a new-born babe he gladly receives the ado7iov, " sincere 
milk of the word, and grows thereby ;" going on in the 
might of the Lord his God, from faith to faith, from grace 
to grace, until at length he comes unto " a perfect man, 
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." 
Sermons, vol. i, pp. 15, 16. 



208 



WESLEYANA — OF SALVATION. 



SECTION III. 

Obtained by Faith. 

It is by faith we are saved, justified, and sanctified ; 
taking that word in its highest sense. And first, How are 
we justified by faith 1 In what sense is this to be under- 
stood ? I answer, Faith is the condition, and the only 
condition, of justification. It is the condition : none is 
justified but he that believes : without faith no man is 
justified. And it is the only condition : this alone is suffi- 
cient for justification. Every one that believes is justified, 
whatever else he has or has not. In other words, no man 
is justified till he believes ; every man, when he believes, 
is justified. 

2. " But does not God command us to repent also ? 
Yea, and to 1 bring forth fruits meet for repentance?' To 
cease, for instance, from doing evil, and learn to do well ? 
And is not both the one and the other of the utmost neces- 
sity, insomuch that if we willingly neglect either, we 
cannot reasonably expect to be justified at all? But if this 
be so, how can it be said that faith is the only condition 
of justification V 

God does undoubtedly command us both to repent and 
to bring forth fruits meet for repentance ; which, if we 
willingly neglect, we cannot reasonably expect to be jus- 
tified at all : therefore both repentance, and fruits meet 
for repentance, are, in some sense, necessary to justifica- 
tion. But they are not necessary in the same sense with 
faith, nor in the same degree. Not in the same degree ; for 
those fruits are only necessary conditionally ; if there be 
time and opportunity for them. Otherwise a man may be 
justified without them, as was the thief upon the cross ; 
(if we may call him so ; for a late writer has discovered 
that he was no thief, but a very honest and respectable 



WESLEY ANA-— OF SALVATION. 



209 



person!) but he cannot be justified without faith; this is 
impossible. Likewise, let a man have ever so much 
repentance, or ever so many of the fruits meet for repent- 
ance, yet all this does not at all avail ; he is not justified 
till he believes. But the moment he believes, with or 
without those fruits, yea, with more or less repentance, he 
is justified. Not in the same sense; for repentance and its 
fruits are only remotely necessary ; necessary in order to 
faith ; whereas faith is immediately and directly necessary 
to justification. It remains, that faith is the only condition 
which is immediately and proximately necessary to justi- 
fication. 

3. " But do you believe we are sanctified by faith ? 
We know you believe that we are justified by faith ; but 
do not you believe, and accordingly teach, that we are 
sanctified by our works ?" So it has been roundly and 
vehemently affirmed for these five and twenty years : but 
I have constantly declared just the contrary ; and that in 
all manner of ways. I have continually testified, in pri- 
vate and in public, that we are sanctified, as well as justi- 
fied, by faith. And indeed the one of those great truths 
does exceedingly illustrate the other. Exactly as we are 
justified by faith, so are we sanctified by faith. Faith is 
the condition, and the only condition of sanctification, 
exactly as it is of justification. It is the condition: none 
is sanctified but he that believes ; without faith no man is 
sanctified. And it is the only condition : this alone is suf- 
ficient for sanctification. Every one that believes is sanc- 
tified, whatever else he has or has not. In other words, 
no man is sanctified till he believes : every man when he 
believes is sanctified. 

4. " But is there not a repentance consequent upon, as 
well as a repentance previous to, justification? And is it 
not incumbent on all that are justified to be ' zealous of 
good works V Yea, are not these so necessary, that if a 



210 



WESLEYANA— OF SALVATION. 



man willingly neglect them he cannot reasonably expect 
that he shall ever be sanctified in the full sense ; that is, 
perfected in love ? Nay, can he grow at all in grace, in 
the loving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Yea, 
can he retain the grace which God has already given him? 
Can he continue in the faith which he has received, or in 
the favour of God ? Do not you yourself allow all this, 
and continually assert it ? But, if this be so, how can it 
be said that faith is the only condition of sanctification V 

5. I do allow all this, and continually maintain it as the 
truth of God. I allow there is a repentance consequent 
upon, as well as a repentance previous to, justification. It 
is incumbent on all that are justified to be zealous of good 
works. And these are so necessary, that if a man will- 
ingly neglect them he cannot reasonably expect that he 
shall ever be sanctified ; he cannot grow in grace, in the 
image of God, the mind which was in Christ Jesus ; nay, 
he cannot retain the grace he has received, he cannot con- 
tinue in faith, or in the favour of God. — Sermons, vol. i, 
pp. 387, 388. 

SECTION IV. 

What is meant hy working out our own Salvation. 

What are the steps which the Scriptures direct us to 
take in the working out of our own salvation ? The pro- 
phet Isaiah gives us a general answer touching the first 
steps which we are to take : " Cease to do evil ; learn to 
do well." If ever you desire that God should work in you 
that faith whereof cometh both present and eternal salva- 
tion, by the grace already given, fly from all sin as from 
the face of a serpent ; carefully avoid every evil word and 
work; yea, abstain from all appearance of evil. And 
" learn to do well :" be zealous of good works, of works 
of piety, as well as works of mercy ; family prayer, and 



WESLEY ANA— -OF SALVATION. 



211 



crying to God in secret. Fast in secret, and " your Father, 
which seeth in secret, he will reward you openly." 
" Search the Scriptures :" hear them in public, read them 
in private, and meditate therein. At every opportunity, be 
a partaker of the Lord's supper. " Do this in remembrance" 
of him ; and he will meet you at his own table. Let your 
conversation be with the children of God ; and see that it 
" be in grace, seasoned with salt." As ye have time, do 
good unto all men; to their souls and to their bodies. 
And herein " be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abound- 
ing in the work of the Lord." It then only remains that 
ye deny yourselves and take up your cross daily. Deny 
yourselves every pleasure which does not prepare you for 
taking pleasure in God, and willingly embrace every means 
of drawing near to God, though it be a cross, though it 
be grievous to flesh and blood. Thus when you have 
redemption in the blood of Christ, you will " go on to 
perfection ;" till " walking in the light as he in the light," 
you are enabled to testify that " he is faithful and just" not 
only to " forgive [your] sins, but to cleanse you from all 
unrighteousness." 

" But (say some) what connection is there between the 
former and the latter clause of this sentence? Is there 
not rather a flat opposition between the one and the other 1 
If it is God that worketh in us both to will and to do, what 
need is there of our working f Does not his working thus 
supercede the necessity of our working at all? Nay, does 
it not render our working impracticable, as well as unne- 
cessary ? For if we allow that God does all, what is there 
left for us to do V 

Such is the reasoning of flesh and blood. And at first 
hearing it is exceedingly plausible. But it is not solid ; as 
will evidently appear, if we consider the matter more 
deeply. We shall then see there is no opposition between 
these ; " God works ; therefore do ye work but, on 



212 WE S L E ¥ AN A — OF SALVATION. 

the contrary, the closest connection ; and that in two 
respects. For, first, God works ; therefore you can work: 
secondly, God works ; therefore you must work. 

First, God worketh in you ; therefore you can work : 
otherwise it would be impossible. If he did not work, it 
would be impossible for you to work out your own salva- 
tion. " With man this is impossible," saith our Lord, 
" for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
Yea, it is impossible for any man ; for any that is born of 
a woman ; unless God work in. him. Seeing all men are, 
by nature, not only sick, but " dead in trespasses and in 
sins," it is not possible for them to do any thing well till 
God raises them from the dead. It was impossible for 
Lazarus to come forth till the Lord had given him life. 
And it is equally impossible for us to come out of our sins, 
yea, or to make the least motion toward it, till He who hath 
all power in heaven and earth calls our dead souls into 
life. 

Yet this is no excuse for those who continue in sin, and 
lay the blame upon their Maker by saying, " It is God 
only that must quicken us, for we cannot quicken our own 
souls." For allowing that all the souls of men are dead 
in sin by nature, this excuses none, seeing there is no man 
that is in a state of mere nature ; there is no man, unless 
he has quenched the Spirit, that is wholly void of the 
grace of God. No man living is entirely destitute of what 
is vulgarly called natural conscience. But this is not natu- 
ral : it is more properly termed 'preventing grace. Every 
man has a greater or less measure of this, which waiteth 
not for the call of man. Ever}" one has, sooner or later, 
good desires ; although the generality of men stifle them 
before they can strike deep root, or produce any consider- 
able fruit. Every one has some measure of that light, 
some faint glimmering ray, which, sooner or later, more 
or less, enlightens every man that cometh into the world. 



WESLEYANA— OF SALVATION. 



213 



And every one, unless he be one of the small number 
whose conscience is seared with a hot iron, feels more or 
less uneasy when he acts contrary to the light of his own 
conscience. So that no man sins because he has not grace, 
but because he doth not use the grace which he hath. 

Therefore, inasmuch as God works in you, you are now 
able to work out your own salvation. Since he worketh 
in you of his own good pleasure, without any merit of 
yours, both to will and to do, it is possible for you to fulfil 
all righteousness. It is possible for you to "love God, 
because he hath first loved us ;" and to " walk in love," 
after the pattern of our great Master. We know, indeed, 
that word of his to be absolutely true, " Without me ye 
can do nothing." But, on the other hand, we know every 
believer can say, " I can do all things through Christ that 
strengtheneth me." 

Meantime let us remember, that God has joined these 
together in the experience of every believer: and there- 
fore we must take care not to imagine they are ever to be 
put asunder. We must beware of that mock humility 
which teaches us to say, in excuse for our wilful disobe- 
dience, " O, I can do nothing!" and stops there, without 
once naming the grace of God. Pray, think twice. Con- 
sider what you say. I hope you wrong yourself. For 
if it be really true that you can do nothing, then you have 
no faith. And if you have not faith, you are in a wretched 
condition : you are not in a state of salvation. Surely it 
is not so. You can do something, through Christ strength- 
ening you. Stir up the spark of grace which is now in 
you, and he will give you more grace. 

Secondly, God worketh in you ; therefore you must 
work : you must be " workers together with him," (they 
are the very words of the apostle,) otherwise he will cease 
working. The general rule on which his gracious dispen- 
sations invarably proceed is this : " Unto him that hath 



214 WESLEYANA OF SALVATION. 

shall be given, but from him that hath not" — that doth not 
improve the grace already given — " shall be taken away 
what he assuredly hath" (so the words ought to be ren- 
dered.) Even St. Augustine, who is generally supposed 
to favour the contrary doctrine, makes that just remark, 
Qui fecit nos sine nobis, non sdlvabit nos sine nobis : " He 
that made us without ourselves will not save us without 
ourselves." He will not save us unless we " save our- 
selves from this untoward generation;" unless we ourselves 
" fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life ;" 
unless we " agonize to enter in at the straight gate," " deny 
ourselves, and take up our cross daily," and labour by every 
possible means to * make our own calling and election 
sure." 

"Labour," then, brethren, " not for the meat that perish- 
eth, but for that which endurethto everlasting life." Say, 
with our blessed Lord, though in a somewhat different 
sense, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." In 
consideration that he still worketh in you, be never 
u weary of well doing." Go on, in virtue of the grace of 
God preventing, accompanying, and following you, in '-'the 
work of faith, in the patience of hope, and the labour of 
love." " Be ye steadfast, immoveable, always abounding 
in the work of the Lord." And u the God of peace, who 
brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of his 
sheep [Jesus] make you perfect in every good work to do 
his will, working in you what is well-pleasing in his sight, 
through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory for ever and ever." 
Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 236-239. 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 215 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OF THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

SECTION L 

A Christian described. 

Who is a Christian indeed ? What does that term pro« 
perly imply ? It has been so long abused, I fear, not only 
to mean nothing at all, but, what was far worse than no- 
thing, to be a cloak for the vilest hypocrisy, for the grossest 
abominations and immoralities of every kind, that it is high 
time to rescue it out of the hands of wretches that are a 
reproach to human nature : to show determinately what 
manner of man he is to whom this name of right be- 
longs. 

A Christian cannot think of the Author of his being 
without abasing himself before him : without a deep sense 
of the distance between a worm of the earth and Him that 
sitteth on the circle- of the heavens. In his presence he 
sinks into the dust, knowing himself to be less than nothing 
in his eye ; and being conscious, in a manner words cannot 
express, of his own littleness, ignorance, foolishness. So 
that he can only cry out, from the fulness of his heart, 
" O God ! what is man ! what am I !" 

He has a continual sense of his dependance on the Pa- 
rent of good for his being, and all the blessings that attend 
it. To him he refers every natural and every moral en- 
dowment ; with all that is commonly ascribed either to 
fortune, or to the wisdom, courage, or merit of the pos- 
sessor. And hence he acquiesces in whatsoever appears to 
be his will, not only with patience, but with thankfulness. 
He willingly resigns all he is, all he has, to his wise and 
gracious disposal. The ruling temper of his heart is the 



'116 WESLEYAKA — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, 

most absolute submission, and the tenderest gratitude to 
his sovereign Benefactor. And this grateful love creates 
filial fear : an awful reverence toward him. and an earnest- 
care not to give place to any disposition, not to admit any 
action, word, or thought, which might in any degree dis- 
please that indulgent Power to whom he owes his life, 
breath, and all things. 

And as he has the strongest affection for the Fountain 
of all good, so he has the firmest confidence in him : a 
confidence winch neither pleasure nor pain, neither life 
nor death can shake. But yet this, far from creating sloth 
or indolence, pushes him on to the most vigorous industry. 
It causes him to put forth all his strength in obeying Him 
in whom he confides. So that he is never faint in his 
mind, never weary of doing whatever he believes to be 
his will. And as he knows the most acceptable worship 
of God is to imitate him he worships, so he is continually 
labouring to transcribe into himself all his imitable per- 
fections ; in particular his justice, mercy, and truth, so 
eminently displayed in all his creatures. 

Above all, remembering that God is love, he is con- 
formed to the same likeness. He is full of love to his 
neighbour, of universal love ; not confined to one sect or 
partv ; not restrained to those who agree with him in 
opinions, in outward modes of worship ; or to those who 
are allied to him by blood, or recommended by nearness 
of place. Neither does he love those only that love him, 
or are endeared to him by intimacy of acquaintance. But 
his love resembles that of Him whose mercy is over all 
his works. It soars above all these scanty bounds, em- 
bracing neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies : 
yea, not only the good and gentle, but also the froward ; 
the evil and unthankful. For he loves every soul that God 
has made ; every child of man, of whatever place or na- 
tion. And vet this universal benevolence does in no wise 



WESLEVANA — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 217 



interfere with a peculiar regard for his relations, friends, 
and benefactors ; a fervent love for his country ; and the 
most endeared affection to all men of integrity, of clear 
and generous virtue. 

His love to these, so to all mankind, is in itself generous 
and disinterested ; springing from no view of advantage to 
himself, from no regard to profit or praise : no, nor even 
the pleasure of loving. This is the daughter, not the pa- 
rent of affection. By experience he knows that social 
love (if it mean the love of our neighbour) is absolutely 
different from self-love, even of the most allowable kind. 
Just as different as the objects at which they point. And 
yet it is sure, that, if they are under due regulations, each 
will give additional force to the other, till they mix toge- 
ther never to be divided. 

And this universal, disinterested love, is productive of 
all right affections. It is fruitful of gentleness, tender- 
ness, sweetness ; of humanity, courtesy, and affability. It 
makes a Christian rejoice in the virtues of all, and bear a 
part in their happiness ; at the same time that he sympa- 
thizes with their pains, and compassionates their infirm- 
ities. It creates modesty, condescension, prudence, toge- 
ther with calmness and evenness of temper. It is the 
parent of generosity, openness, and frankness ; void of 
jealousy and suspicion. It begets candour, and willingness 
to believe and hope whatever is kind and friendly of every 
man ; and invincible patience, never overcome of evil, but 
overcoming evil with good. 

The same love constrains him to converse, not only 
with a strict regard to truth, but with artless sincerity 
and genuine simplicity, as one in whom there is no guile. 
And not content with abstaining from all such expressions 
as are contrary to justice or truth, he endeavours to 
refrain from every unloving word, either to a present or 
of an absent person ; in all his conversation aiming at this, 

10 



218 WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

either to improve himself in knowledge or virtue, or to 
make those with whom he converses some way wiser, or 
better, or happier, than they were before. 

The same love is productive of all right actions. It 
leads him into an earnest and steady discharge of all social 
offices, of whatever is due to relations of every kind; to 
his friends, to his country, and to any particular commu- 
nity whereof he is a member. It prevents his willingly 
hurting or grieving any man. It guides him into a uni- 
form practice of justice and mercy, equally extensive with 
the principle whence it flows. It constrains him to do 
all possible good, of every possible kind, to all men : and 
makes him invariably resolved, in every circumstance of 
life, to do that, and that only, to others, which, supposing 
he were himself in the same situation, he would desire 
they should do to him. 

And as he is easy to others, so he is easy to himself. 
He is free from the painful swellings of pride, from the 
flames of anger, from the impetuous gusts of irregular self- 
will. He is no longer tortured with envy, or malice, or 
with unreasonable and hurtful desire. He is no more en- 
slaved to the pleasures of sense, but has the full power 
both over his mind and body, in a continued cheerful 
course of sobriety, of temperance, and chastity. He knows 
how to use all things in their place, and yet is superior to 
them all. He stands above those low pleasures of imagi- 
nation which captivate vulgar minds, whether arising from 
what mortals term greatness, or novelty, or beauty. All 
these, too, he can taste, and still look upward ; still aspire 
to nobler enjoyments. Neither is he a slave to fame : popu- 
lar breath affects not him : he stands steady and collected 
in himself. 

And he who seeks no praise, cannot fear dispraise. 
Censure gives him no uneasiness ; being conscious to 
himself that he would not willingly offend, and that he has 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 219 

the approbation of the Lord of all. He cannot fear want, 
knowing in whose hand is the earth and the fulness thereof, 
and that it is impossible for him to withhold from one that 
fears him any manner of thing that is good. He cannot 
fear pain, knowing it will never be sent unless it be for his 
real advantage ; and that then his strength will be propor- 
tioned to it, as it has always been in times past. He cannot 
fear death ; being able to trust Him he loves with his soul 
as well as his body ; yea, glad to leave the corruptible 
body in the dust till it is raised incorruptible and immortal. 
So that in honour or shame, in abundance or want, in ease 
or pain, in life or in death, always, and in all things, he has 
learned to be content, to be easy, thankful, happy. 

He is happy in knowing there is a God, an intelligent 
Cause and Lord of all, and that he is not the produce either 
of blind chance or inexorable necessity. He is happy in 
the full assurance he has that this Creator and End of all 
things is a being of boundless wisdom, of infinite power to 
execute all the designs of his wisdom, and of no less infi- 
nite goodness to direct all his power to the advantage of 
all his creatures. Nay, even the consideration of his im- 
mutable justice, rendering to all their due, of his unspotted 
holiness, of his all-sufficiency in himself, and of that im- 
mense ocean of all perfections which centre in God from 
eternity to eternity, is a continual addition to the happiness 
of a Christian. 

A farther addition is made thereto, while in contemplat- 
ing even the things that surround him, that thought strikes 
warmly upon his heart, 

" These are thy glorious works, Parent of good I" 

while he takes knowledge of the invisible things of God, 
even his eternal power and wisdom in the things that 
are seen, the heavens, the earth, the fowls of the air, the 
lilies of the field. How much more while rejoicing in the 



220 WESLEY AX A OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

constant care which he still takes of the work of his own 
hand, he breaks out. in a transport of love and praise, u 
Lord our Governor, how excellent is thy name in all the 
earth ! Thou that hast set thy glory above the heavens !' 5 
While he. as it were, sees the Lord sitting upon his 
g§ throne, and ruling all things well ; while he observes the 
■ general providence of God coextended with his whole 
creation, and surveys all the effects of it in the heavens 
and the earth, as a well-pleased spectator ; while he sees 
the wisdom and goodness of his general government de- 
scending to even- particular ; so presiding over the whole 
universe as over a single person, so watching over every 
single person as if he were the whole universe : how does 
he exult when he reviews the various traces of the al- 
mighty goodness in what has befallen himself in the seve- 
ral circumstances and changes of his own life ! All which, 
he now sees, have been allotted to him, and dealt out in 
number, weight, and measure. With what triumph of 
soul, in surveying either the general or particular provi- 
dence of God, does he observe every line pointing out an 
hereafter, every scene opening into eternity. 

He is peculiarly and inexpressibly happy in the clearest 
and fullest conviction, " This all-powerful, all- wise, all- 
gracious Being, this Governor of all, loves me. This lover 
of rny soul is always with me, is never absent, no, not for 
a moment. And I love him ; there is none in heaven but 
thee, none on earth that I desire beside thee ! And he 
has given me to resemble himself ; he has stamped his 
imasre on mv heart. And I live unto him : I do onlv his 
will ; I glorify him with my body and my spirit. And it 
will not be long before I shall die unto him ; I shall die 
into the arms of God. And then, farewell sin and pain; 
then it only remains that I should live with him for ever." 

This is the plain, naked portraiture of a Christian. But 
be not prejudiced against him for his name. Forgive his 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 221 

particularities of opinion, and (what you think) supersti- 
tious modes of worship. These are circumstances but of 
small concern ; and do not enter into the essence of his 
character. Cover them with a veil of love, and look at 
the substance ; his tempers, his holiness, his happiness. 

Can calm reason conceive either a more amiable or a 
more desirable character ? Is it your own 1 Away with 
names ! Away with opinions ! I care not what you are 
called. I ask not (it does not deserve a thought) what 
opinion you are of ; so you are conscious to yourself, that 
you are the man whom I have been (however faintly) 
describing. 

Do not you know you ought to be such ? Is the Go- 
vernor of the world well pleased that you are not 1 Do 
you (at least) desire it ? I would to God that desire may 
penetrate your inmost soul ; and that you may have no rest 
in your spirit till you are not only almost, but altogether a 
Christian!— Works, vol. v, pp. 752-756. 

SECTION II. 
Evidences of Adoption. 

Every man, applying those Scriptural marks to himself, 
may know whether he is a child of God. Thus, if he 
know, first, " As many as are led by the Spirit of God," 
into all holy tempers and actions, " they are the sons of 
God ;" (for which he has the infallible assurance of Holy 
Writ ;) secondly, I am thus " led by the Spirit of God ;" 
he will easily conclude — therefore I am a son of God. 

Agreeably to this are those plain declarations of St. 
John in his first epistle : " Hereby we know that we do 
know him, if we keep his commandments," chap, ii, 3. 
" Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of 
God perfected : hereby know we that we are in him ;" 



222 WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, 

that we are indeed the children of God, ver. 5. "If ye 
know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that 
doeth righteousness is born of him," ver. 29. " We know 
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love 
the brethren," chap, iii, 14. " Hereby we know that we 
are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him," 
(ver. 19,) namely, because we " love one another, not in 
word, neither in tongue ; but in deed and in truth." 
" Hereby know we that we dwell in him, because he hath 
given us of his [loving] Spirit," chap, iv, 13. And, 
" Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the [obedient] 
spirit which he hath given us," chap, iii, 24. 

It is highly probable there never were any children of 
God, from the beginning of the world unto this day, who 
were farther advanced in the grace of God, and the know- 
ledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, than the apostle John, at 
the time when he wrote these words, and the fathers in 
Christ to whom he wrote. Notwithstanding which, it is 
evident both the apostle himself, and all those pillars in 
God's temple, were very far from despising these marks 
of their being the children of God ; and that they applied 
them to their own souls for the confirmation of their faith. 
Yet all this is no other than rational evidence, the witness 
of our spirit, our reason, or understanding. It all resolves 
into this : Those who have these marks are children of 
God : but we have these marks : therefore, we are children 
of God. 

But how does it appear that we have these marks ? 
This is a question which still remains. How does it appear 
that we do love God and our neighbour, and that we keep 
his commandments? 

Observe that the meaning of the question is, How does 
it appear to ourselves ? not to others. I would ask him 
then that proposes this question, How does it appear to 
you that you are alive ? and that you are now in ease, and 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 223 

not in pain ? Are you not immediately conscious of it ? 
By the same immediate consciousness you will know if 
your soul is alive to God ; if you are saved from the pain 
of proud wrath, and have the ease of a meek and quiet 
spirit. By the same means you cannot but perceive if 
you love, rejoice, and delight in God. By the same you 
must be directly assured if you love your neighbour as 
yourself ; if you are kindly affectioned to all mankind, and 
full of gentleness and long-suffering. And with regard to 
the outward mark of the children of God, which is, accord- 
ing to St. John, the keeping his commandments, you 
undoubtedly know in your own breasts, if, by the grace 
of God, it belongs to you. Your conscience informs you, 
from day to day, if you do not take the name of God within 
your lips, unless with seriousness and devotion, with 
reverence and godly fear ; if you remember the sabbath 
day to keep it holy ; if you honour your father and mother ; 
if you do to all as you would they should do unto you ; if 
you possess your body in sanctiflcation and honour ; and 
if, whether you eat or drink, you are temperate therein, 
and do all to the glory of God. 

Now this is properly the testimony of our own spirit ; 
even the testimony of our own conscience that God hath 
given us to be holy of heart, and holy in outward conver- 
sation. It is a consciousness of our having received, in 
and by the Spirit of adoption, the tempers mentioned in the 
word of God as belonging to his adopted children, even a 
loving heart toward God and toward all mankind ; hang- 
ing, with childlike confidence, on God our Father, desiring 
nothing but him, casting all our care upon him, and em- 
bracing every child of man with earnest, tender affection ; 
so as to be ready to lay down our life for our brother, as 
Christ laid down his life for us : a consciousness that we 
are inwardly conformed, by the Spirit of God, to the image 
of his Son, and that we walk before him in justice, mercy, 



224 WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

and truth, doing the things which are pleasing in his 
sight. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 86, 87. 

SECTION III. 
Sin remains in a Believer. 

Is there then sin in him that is in Christ ? Does sin 
remain in one that believes in him 1 Is there any sin in 
them that are born of God, or are they wholly delivered 
from it ? Let no one imagine this to be a question of mere 
curiosity ; or that it is of little importance whether it be 
determined one way or the other. Rather it is a point 
of the utmost moment to every serious Christian ; the 
resolving of which very nearly concerns both his present 
and eternal happiness. 

And yet I do not know that ever it was controverted in 
the primitive church. Indeed there was no room for dis- 
puting concerning it, as all Christians were agreed. And 
so far as I have ever observed, the whole body of ancient 
Christians who have left us any thing in writing, declare 
with one voice, that even believers in Christ, till they are 
" strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might," have 
need to " wrestle with flesh and blood," with an evil 
nature, as well as " with principalities and powers." 

And herein our own Church (as indeed in most points) 
exactly copies after the primitve ; declaring in her ninth 
article, " Original sin is the corruption of the nature of 
every man, whereby man is in his own nature inclined to 
evil, so that the flesh lusteth contrary to the spirit. And 
this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are 
regenerated; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek 
dpovTjfia capKoc, is not subject to the law of God. And 
although there is no condemnation for them that believe, 
yet this lust hath of itself the nature of sin." 

The same testimony is given by all other churches ; not 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 225 

only by the Greek and Romish church, but by every 
reformed church in Europe, of whatever denomination. 
Indeed some of these seem to carry the thing too far ; so 
describing the corruption of heart in a believer, as scarce 
to allow that he has dominion over it, but rather is in 
bondage thereto ; and, by this means, they leave hardly 
any distinction between a believer and an unbeliever. 
Sermons^ vol. i, p. 108. 

But we should likewise be convinced, that as sin remains 
in our hearts, so it cleaves to all our words and actions. 
Indeed it is to be feared that many of our words are more 
than mixed with sin ; that they are sinful altogether ; for 
such, undoubtedly, is all uncharitable conversation ; all which 
does not spring from brotherly love ; all which does not 
agree with that golden rule, " What ye would that others 
should do to you, even so do unto them." Of this kind is 
all back-biting, all tale-bearing, all whispering, all evil- 
speaking, that is, repeating the faults of absent persons; 
for none would have others repeat his faults when he is 
absent. No w how few are there, even among believers, who 
are in no degree guilty of this ; who steadily observe the 
good old rule, " Of the dead and the absent nothing but 
good?" And suppose they do, do they likewise abstain 
from unprofitable conversation ? Yet all this is unquestion- 
ably sinful, and " grieves the Holy Spirit of God:" yea, 
and " for every idle word that men shall speak they shall 
give an account in the day of judgment." 

But let it be supposed that they continually " watch and 
pray," and so do " not enter into this temptation ;" that 
they constantly set a watch before their mouth, and keep 
the door of their lips ; suppose they exercise themselves 
herein, that all their " conversation may be in grace, sea- 
soned with salt, and meet to minister grace to the hearers f* 
yet do they not daily slide into useless discourse, notwith- 
standing all their caution ? And even when they endeavour 

10* 



226 WESLEYAIv A — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

to speak for God, are their words pure, free from unholy 
mixtures ? Do they find nothing wrong in their very inten- 
tions? Do they speak merely to please God, and not 
partly to please themselves ? Is it wholly to do the will 
of God, and not their own will also ? Or, if they begin 
with a single eye, do they go on u looking unto Jesus," 
and talking with him all the time they are talking with 
their neighbour 1 When they are reproving sin, do they 
feel no anger or unkind temper to the sinner ? When 
they are instructing the ignorant, do they not find any 
pride or self-preference I When they are comforting the 
afflicted, or provoking one another to love and to good 
works, do they never perceive any inward self-commenda- 
tion: " Now you have spoke well ?" Or any vanity, a desire 
that others should think so, and esteem them on the ac- 
count % In some or all these respects, how much sin 
cleaves to the best conversation^ even of believers ? the 
conviction of which is another branch of the repentance 
which belongs to them that are justified. 

And how much sin, if their conscience is thoroughly 
awake, may they find cleaving to their actions also ? Nay, 
are there not many of these which, though they are such 
as the world would not condemn, yet cannot be com- 
mended, no, nor excused, if we judge by the word of God? 
Are there not many of their actions which, they them- 
selves know, are not to the glory of God ? Many wherein 
they did not even aim at this ; which were not undertaken 
with an eye to God? And of those that were, are there 
not many wherein their eye is not singly fixed on God ? 
Wherein they are doing their own will at least as much 
as His ; and seeking to please themselves as much, if not 
more, than to please God ? And while they are endea- 
vouring to do good to their neighbour, do they not feel 
wrong tempers of various kinds ? Hence their good 
actions, so called, are far from being strictly such ; being 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER 227 

polluted with a mixture of evil. Such are their works of 
mercy. And is not the same mixture in their works of 
piety? While they are hearing the word which is able 
to save their souls, do they not frequently find such thoughts 
as make them afraid lest it should turn to their condemna- 
tion rather than their salvation ? Is it not often the same 
case while they are endeavouring to offer up their prayers 
to God, whether in public or private ? Nay, while they 
are engaged in the most solemn service, even while they 
are at the table of the Lord, what manner of thoughts arise 
in them ! Are not their hearts sometimes wandering to 
the ends of the earth ; sometimes rilled with such imagi- 
nations as make them fear lest all their sacrifice should be 
an abomination to the Lord? So that they are now more 
ashamed of their best duties than they were once of their 
worst sins. 

Again : how many sins of omission are they chargeable 
with ? W e know the words of the apostle, " To him that 
knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." 
But do they not know a thousand instances wherein they 
might have done good to enemies, to strangers, to their 
brethren, either with regard to their bodies or their souls, 
and they did it not ? How many omissions have they been 
guilty of in their duty toward God ! How many oppor- 
tunities of communicating, of hearing his word, of public 
or private prayer, have they neglected ! So great reason 
had even that holy man, Archbishop Usher, after all his 
labours for God, to cry out, almost with his dying breath, 
" Lord, forgive me my sins of omission !" 

But, besides these outward emissions, may they not fmd 
in themselves inward defects without number? Defects 
of every kind : they have not the love, the fear, the confi- 
dence they ought to have toward God. They have not 
the love which is due to their neighbour, to every child 
of man ; no, nor even that which is due to their brethren, 



228 WESLEYAN r A — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 



to every child of God, whether those that are at a distance 
from them, or those with whom they are immediately con- 
nected. They have no holy temper in the degree they 
ought ; they are defective in every thing : in a deep con- 
sciousness of which they are ready to cry out with M. De 
Renty, " I am a ground all overrun with thorns ;" or with 
Job, "I am vile : I abhor myself, and repent as in dust 
and ashes." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 119-121. 
• 

SECTION IV. 
His Love. 

" Charity," or love, (as it were to be wished it had 
been rendered throughout, being a far plainer and less 
ambiguous word.) the love of our neighbour, as Christ hath 
loved us, " suffereth long ;" is patient toward all men : it 
suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors, infirmities, all 
the frowardness, and littleness of faith, of the children of 
God ; all the malice and wickedness of the children of the 
world. And it suffers all this, not only for a time, for a 
short season, but to the end ; still feeding our enemy when 
he hungers ; if he thirst, still giving him drink ; thus con- 
tinually " heaping coals of fire," of melting love, " upon 
his head." 

And in every step toward this desirable end, the 64 over- 
coming evil with good," " love is kind ;" (xpyzwerai : a 
word not easily translated ;) it is soft, mild, benign. It 
stands at the utmost distance from moroseness, from all 
harshness or sourness of spirit ; and inspires the sufferer 
at once with the most amiable sweetness, and the most 
fervent and tender affection. 

Consequently "love envieth not:" it is impossible it 
should ; it is directly opposite to that baneful temper. It 
cannot be that he who has this tender affection to all, 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER* 229 



who earnestly wishes all temporal and spiritual blessings, 
all good things in this world and the world to come, to 
every soul that God hath made, should be pained at his 
bestowing any good gift on any child of man. If he has 
himself received the same, he does not grieve, but rejoice 
that another partakes of the common benefit. If he has 
not, he blesses God that his brother at least has, and is 
herein happier than himself. And the greater his love, 
the more does he rejoice in the blessings of all mankind ; 
the farther is he removed from every kind and degree of 
envy toward any creature. 

Love 8 7T£pTC£peveTai — not " vaunteth not itself :" which 
coincides with the very next words ; but rather, (as the 
word properly imports,) is not rash, or hasty in judging ; it 
will not hastily condemn any one. It does not pass a 
severe sentence on a slight or sudden view of things : it 
first weighs all the evidence, particularly that which is 
brought in favour of the accused. A true lover of his 
neighbour is not like the generality of men, who, even in 
cases of the nicest nature, " see a little, presume a great 
deal, and so jump to the conclusion." No : he proceeds 
with wariness and circumspection, taking heed to every 
step ; willingly subscribing to that rule of the ancient 
heathen, (O where will the modern Christian appear!) 
" I am so far from lightly believing what one man says 
against another, that I will not easily believe what a man 
says against himself. I will always allow him second 
thoughts, and many times counsel too." 

It follows, love " is not puffed up:" it does not incline 
or suffer any man " to think more highly of himself than 
he ought to think;" but rather to think soberly: yea, it 
humbles the soul unto the dust. It destroys all high con- 
ceits, engendering pride ; and makes us rejoice to be as 
nothing, to be little and vile, the lowest of all, the servant 
of all. They who are " kindly affectioned one to another 



230 WES LEY AN A OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, 

with brotherly love," cannot but " in honour prefer one 
another." Those who, having the same love, are of one 
accord, do in lowliness of mind " each esteem other better 
than themselves." 

" It doth not behave itself unseemly :" it is not rude, or 
willingly offensive to any. It " renders to all their due ; 
fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour ; courtesy, 
civility, humanity, to all the world ; in their several degrees 
" honouring all men." A late writer defines good breed- 
ing, nay, the highest degree of it, politeness, " A continual 
desire to please, appearing in all the behaviour :" but if 
so, there is none so well-bred as a Christian, a lover of all 
mankind. For he cannot but desire to "please all men 
for their good to edification :" and this desire cannot be 
hid : it will necessarily appear in all his intercourse with 
men. For his " love is without dissimulation :" it will 
appear in all his actions and conversation ; yea, and will 
constrain him, though without guile, to " become all things 
to all men, if by any means he may save some." 

And in becoming all things to all men, " love seeketh 
not her own." In striving to please all men, the lover of 
mankind has no eye at all to his own temporal advantage. 
He covets no man's silver, or gold, or apparel : he desires 
nothing but the salvation of their souls : yea, in some 
sense he may be said not to seek his own spiritual, any 
more than temporal advantage ; for while he is on the full 
stretch to save their souls from death, he, as it were, for- 
gets himself. He does not think of himself so long as 
that zeal for the glory of God swallows him up. Nay, at 
some times he may almost seem, through an excess of 
love, to give up himself, both his soul and his body ; while 
he cries out, with Moses, " O, this people have sinned a 
great sin ; yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin ; — and if 
not, blot me out of the book which thou hast written!" 
Exod. xxxii, 32, 33 : or with St. Paul, " I could wish 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN" CHARACTER. 231 



that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, 
my kinsmen according to the flesh !" Rom. ix, 3. 

No rriarvel that such " love is not provoked a napo^v- 
verai. Let it be observed, the word easily, strangely 
inserted in the translation, is not in the original ; St. Paul's 
words are absolute. " Love is not provoked it is not 
provoked to unkindness toward any one. Occasions, in- 
deed, will frequently occur ; outward provocations of 
various kinds ; but love does not yield to provocation ; it 
triumphs over all. In all trials it looketh unto Jesus, and 
is more than conqueror in his love. 

Love prevents a thousand provocations which would 
otherwise arise, because it " thinketh no evil." Indeed 
the merciful man cannot avoid knowing many things that 
are evil, he cannot but see them with .his own eyes, and 
hear them with his own ears : for love does not put out 
his eyes, so that it is impossible for him not to see that 
such things are done ; neither does it take away his under- 
standing, any more than his senses, so that he cannot but 
know that they are evil. For instance : when he sees a 
man strike his neighbour, or hears him blaspheme God, 
he cannot either question the thing done, or the words 
spoken, or doubt of their being evil. Yet, a loyi&rai to 
kclkov . The word Xoy^erai, (thinketh,) does not refer either 
to our seeing and hearing, or to the first and involuntary 
acts of our understanding ; but to our willingly thinking 
what we need not ; our inferring evil where it does not 
appear ; to our reasoning concerning things which we do 
not see ; our supposing what we have neither seen nor 
heard. This is what true love absolutely destroys. It 
tears up, root and branch, all imagining what we have not 
known. It casts out all jealousies, all evil surmisings, all 
readiness to believe evil. It is frank, open, unsuspicious ; 
and, as it cannot design, so neither does it fear evil. 

It " rejoiceth not in iniquity:" common as this is even 



232 WES LEV AN A- — OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 



&mong those who bear the name of Christ, who scruple not 
to rejoice over their enemy when he falleth either into 
affliction, or terror, or sin. Indeed how hardly ?an they 
avoid this who are zealously attached to any party ? How 
difficult is it for them not to be pleased with any fault 
which they discover in those of the opposite party, with 
any real or supposed blemish, either in their principles or 
practice ? What warm defender of any cause is clear of 
these? Yea, who is so calm as to be altogether free? 
Who does not rejoice when his adversary makes a false 
step which he thinks will advantage his own cause ? Only 
a man of love. He alone weeps over either the sin or 
folly of his enemy, takes no pleasure in hearing or in 
repeating it, but rather desires that it may be forgotten 
for ever. 

But he " rejoiceth in the truth," wheresoever it is found; 
in " the truth which is after godliness f bringing forth its 
pxoper fruit, holiness of heart, and holiness of conversation. 
He rejoices to find that even those who oppose him, whe- 
ther with regard to opinions, or some points of practice, 
are nevertheless lovers of God, and in other respects unre- 
proveable. He is glad to hear good of them, and to speak 
all he can consistently with truth and justice. Indeed, 
good in general is his glory and joy, wherever diffused 
throughout the race of mankind. As a citizen of the world 
he claims a share in the happiness of all the inhabitants 
of it. Because he is a man, he is not unconcerned in the 
welfare of any man ; but enjoys whatsoever brings glory 
to God, and promotes peace and good will among men. 

This " love covereth all things (so, without all doubt, 
'-avra creyeL should be translated ; for otherwise it would 
be the very same with -avra mtopevei, endureth all things :) 
because the merciful man rejoiceth not in iniquity, neither 
does he willingly make mention of it. Whatever evil he 
sees, hears, or knows, he nevertheless conceals, so far as 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 233 

he can, without making himself " partaker of other men's 
sins." Wheresoever, or with whomsoever he is, if he 
sees any thing which he approves not, it goes not out of 
his lips, unless to the person concerned, if haply he may 
gain his brother. So far is he from making the faults or 
failings of others the matter of his conversation, that of 
the absent he never does speak at all, unless he can speak 
well. A tale-bearer, a backbiter, a whisperer, an evil- 
speaker, is to him all one as a murderer. He would just 
as soon cut his neighbour's throat as thus murder his repu- 
tation. Just as soon would he think of diverting himself 
by setting fire to his neighbour's house, as of thus " scat- 
tering abroad arrows, firebrands, and death," and saying, 
" Am I not in sport ?" 

He makes one only exception. Sometimes he is con- 
vinced that it is for the glory of God, or (which comes to 
the same) the good of his neighbour, that an evil should 
not be covered. In this case, for the benefit of the inno- 
cent, he is constrained to declare the guilty. But even 
here, 1. He will not speak at all till love, superior love 
constrains him. 2. He cannot do it from a general con- 
fused view of doing good, or promoting the glory of God, 
but from a clear sight of some particular end, some deter- 
minate good which he pursues. 3. Still he cannot speak 
unless he be fully convinced that this very means is neces- 
sary to that end ; that the end cannot be answered, at least 
not so effectually, by any other way. 4. He then doeth it 
with the utmost sorrow and reluctance ; using it as the last 
and worst medicine, a desperate remedy in a desperate 
case, a kind of poison never to be used but to expel poison. 
Consequently, 5. He uses it as sparingly as possible. And 
this he does with fear and trembling lest he should trans- 
gress the law of love, by speaking too much, more than 
he would have done by not speaking at all. 

Love " believeth all things." It is always willing to 



234 WESLEY AN A OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER, 

think the best ; to put the most favourable construction on 
every thing. It is ever ready to believe whatever may 
tend to the advantage of any one's character. It is easily 
convinced of (what it earnestly desires) the innocence or 
integrity of any man ; or, at least, of the sincerity of his 
repentance, if he had once erred from the way. It is glad 
to excuse whatever is amiss ; to condemn the offender as 
little as possible ; and to make all the allowance for human 
weakness which can be done without betraying the truth 
of God. 

And when it can no longer believe, then love " hopeth 
all things." Is any evil related of any man? love hopes 
that the relation is not true, that the thing related was 
never done. Is it certain it was ? " But perhaps it was 
not done with such circumstances as are related ; so that, 
allowing the fact, there is room to hope it was not so ill as 
it is represented." Was the action, apparently, undeniably 
evil % Love hopes the intention was not so. Is it clear 
the design was evil too ? " Yet might it not spring from 
the settled temper of the heart, but from a start of passion, 
or from some vehement temptation which hurried the man 
beyond himself?" And even when it cannot be doubted 
but all the actions, designs, and tempers are equally evil ; 
still love hopes that God will at last make bare his arm, 
and get himself the victory ; and that there shall be "joy 
in heaven over [this] one sinner that repenteth more than 
over ninety and nine just persons that need no repent- 
ance." 

Lastly : it " endureth all things." This completes the 
character of him that is truly merciful. He endureth not 
some, not many things only, not most, but absolutely all 
things. Whatever the injustice, the malice, the cruelty 
of men can inflict, he is able to suffer. He calls nothing 
intolerable ; he never says of any thing, " This is not to 
be borne." No : he can not only do, but suffer all things 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 235 

through Christ which strengtheneth him. And all he 
suffers does not destroy his love, nor impair it in the least. 
It is proof against all. It is a flame that burns even in the 
midst of the great deep. " Many waters cannot quench" 
his " love, neither can the floods drown it." It triumphs 
over all. It " never faileth," either in time or in eternity, 

" Thus, in obedience to what Heaven decrees, 
Knowledge shall fail, and prophecy shall cease ; 
But lasting charity's more ample sway, 
Nor bound by time, nor subject to decay, 
In happy triumph shall for ever live, 
And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive." 

So shall a the merciful obtain mercy ;" not only by the 
blessing of God upon all their ways, by his now repaying 
the love they bear to their brethren a thousandfold into 
their own bosom ; but likewise by " an exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory," in the " kingdom prepared for 
them from the beginning of the world." — Sermons, vol. i ? 
pp. 193-198. 

Faith itself, even Christian faith, the faith of God's elect, 
the faith of the operation of God, still is only the hand- 
maid of love. As glorious and honourable as it is, it is not 
the end of the commandment. God hath given this honour 
to love alone : love is the end of all the commandments 
of God. Love is the end, the sole end, of every dispen- 
sation of God, from the beginning of the world to the 
consummation of all things. And it will endure when 
heaven and earth flee away ; for " love [alone] never 
faileth." Faith will totally fail ; it will be swallowed up 
in sight, in the everlasting vision of God. But even then 
love, 

" Its nature and its office still the same, 
Lasting its lamp, and unconsumed its flame, 
In deathless triumph shall for ever live, 
And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive." 



236 WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

Yery excellent things are spoken of faith, and whoso- 
ever is a partaker thereof may well say with the apostle, 
" Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." Yet still 
it loses all its excellence when brought into a comparison 
with love. What St. Paul observes concerning the supe- 
rior glory of the gospel above that of the law may with 
great propriety be spoken of the superior glory of love 
above that of faith : " Even that which was made glorious 
hath no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that 
excelleth. For if that which is done away is glorious, 
much more doth that which remaineth exceed in glory." 
Yea, all the glory of faith, before it is done away, arises 
hence, that it ministers to love : it is the great temporary 
means which God has ordained to promote that eternal 
end. 

Let those who magnify faith beyond all proportion, so 
as to swallow up all things else, and who so totally mis- 
apprehend the nature of it as to imagine it stands in the 
place of love, consider farther, that as love will exist after 
faith, so it did exist long before it. The angels who from 
the moment of their creation beheld the face of their Fa- 
ther that is in heaven had no occasion for faith, it its 
general notion, as it is the evidence of things not seen. 
Neither had they need of faith, in its more particular ac- 
ceptation, faith in the blood of Jesus : for he took not 
upon him the nature of angels, but only the seed of Abra- 
ham. There was therefore no place, before the foundation 
of the world, for faith either in the general or particular 
sense. But there was for love. Love existed from eter- 
nity in God, the great ocean of love. Love had a place 
in all the children of God, from the moment of their crea- 
tion : they received at once from their gracious Creator, 
to exist and to love. 

Nor is it certain (as ingeniously and plausibly as many 
have descanted upon this) that faith, even in the general 



I 

WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 23? 

sense of the word, had any place in paradise. It is highly- 
probable, from that short and uncircumstantial account 
which we have in holy writ, that Adam, before he rebelled 
against God, walked with him by sight and not by faith : 

" For then his reason's eye was sharp and clear, 
And (as an eagle can behold the sun) 
Could have approach'd the Eternal Light, as near 
As th' intellectual angels could have done." 

He was then able to talk with Him face to face, whose 
face we cannot now see and live ; and consequently had 
no need of that faith whose office it is to supply the want 
of sight. 

On the other hand it is absolutely certain faith, in its 
particular sense, had then no place. For in that sense it 
necessarily presupposes sin, and the wrath of God de- 
clared against the sinner ; without which there is no need 
of an atonement for sin in order to the sinner's reconcili- 
ation with God. Consequently, as there was no need of 
an atonement before the fall, so there was no place for 
faith in that atonement ; man being then pure from every 
stain of sin ; holy as God is holy. But love even then 
filled his heart ; it reigned in him without a rival ; and it 
was only when love was lost by sin that faith was added, 
not for its own sake, nor with any design that it should 
exist any longer than until it had answered the end for 
which it was ordained, namely, to restore man to the love 
from which he was fallen. At the fall, therefore, was 
added this evidence of things unseen, which before was 
utterly needless ; this confidence in redeeming love, which 
could not possibly have any place till the promise was 
made that " the Seed of the woman should bruise the 
serpent's head." 

Faith then was originally designed of God to re-esta- 
blish the law of love. Therefore, in speaking thus, we are 



233 



WESLEYAXA— OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 



not undervaluing it, or robbing it of its due praise ; but, on 
the contrary, showing its real worth, exalting it in its just 
proportion, and giving it that very place which the wisdom 
of God assigned it from the beginning. It is the grand 
means of restoring that holy love wherein man was origi- 
nally created. It follows, that although faith is of no value 
in itself, (as neither is any other means whatsoever.) yet 
as it leads to that end, the establishing anew the law of 
love in our hearts : and as, in the present state of things, 
it is the only means under heaven for effecting it. it is on 
that account an unspeakable blessing to man, and of un- 
speakable value before God. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 325- 
327. 

SECTION V. 
His Joy. 

Christian joy is joy in obedience : joy in loving God 
and keeping his commandments. And yet not in keeping 
them as if we were thereby to fulfil the terms of the cove- 
nant of works ; as if by any works or righteousness of 
ours we were to procure pardon and acceptance with 
God. Xot so : we are already pardoned and accepted 
through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Not as if we 
were by our own obedience to procure life, life from the 
death of sin : this also we have already through the grace 
of God. Us ' ; hath he quickened who were dead in sins ;" 
and now we are i; alive to God, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord.* 3 But we rejoice in walking according to the cove- 
nant of grate, in holy love and happy obedience. We 
rejoice in knowing that, " being justified through his 
grace," we have " not received that grace of God in vain 
that God having freely (not for the sake of our walling or 
running, but through the blood of the Lamb) reconciled 
us to himself, we run, in the strength which he hath given 



WESLEY ANA— -OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 239 

us j the way of his commandments. He hath " girded us 
with strength unto the war," and we gladly " fight the 
good fight of faith." We rejoice, through Him who liveth 
in our hearts by faith, to " lay hold of eternal life." This 
is our rejoicing, that as our " Father worketh hitherto," 
so (not by our own might or wisdom, but through the 
power of his Spirit, freely given in Christ Jesus) we also 
work the works of God. And may he work in us what- 
soever is well-pleasing in his sight ! To whom be the 
praise for ever and ever! — Sermons, vol. i, p. 107. 

SECTION VI. 
His Peace, 

Another fruit of this living faith is peace. For, " being 
justified by faith," having all our sins blotted out, " we 
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," 
Rom. v, 1 . This indeed our Lord himself, the night be- 
fore his death, solemnly bequeathed to all his followers : 
" Peace," saith he, " I leave with you ;" (you who " be- 
lieve in God," and " believe also in me ;") " my peace I 
give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. 
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," 
John xiv, 27. And again, " These things have I spoken 
unto you that in me ye might have peace," chap, xvi, 33. 
This is that " peace of God which passeth all understand- 
ing," that serenity of soul which it hath not entered into 
the heart of a natural man to conceive, and which it is not 
possible for even the spiritual man to utter. And it is a 
peace which all the powers of earth and hell are unable 
to take from him. Waves and storms beat upon it, but 
they shake it not ; for it is founded upon a rock. It keepeth 
the hearts and minds of the children of God, at all times 
and in all places. Whether they are in ease or in pain, 
in sickness or health, in abundance or want, they are 



240 WESrEVANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 



happy in God, In every state they have learned to be 
content, yea, to give thanks unto God through Christ 
Jesus ; being well assured that " whatsoever is, is best," 
because it is his will concerning them : so that in all the 
vicissitudes of life their " heart standeth fast, believing in 
the Lord." — Sermons, voL i, pp. 156, 157. 

SECTION VII. 
His Meekness. 

But who are the meek? Not those who grieve at 
nothing, because they know nothing ; who are not discom- 
posed at the evils that occur, because they discern not 
evil from good. Not those who are sheltered from the 
shocks of life by a stupid insensibility; who have, either 
by nature or art, the virtue of stocks and stones, and resent 
nothing, because they feel nothing. Brute philosophers 
are wholly unconcerned in this matter. Apathy is as far 
from meekness as from humanity. So that one would not 
easily conceive how any Christians of the purer ages, 
especially any of the fathers of the church, could con- 
found these, and mistake one of the foulest errors of hea- 
thenism for a branch of true Christianity. 

Nor does Christian meekness imply the being without 
zeal for God any more than it does ignorance or insen- 
sibility. No ; it keeps clear of every extreme, whether in 
excess or defect. It does not destroy, but balance the 
affections, which the God of nature never designed should 
be rooted out by grace, but only brought and kept under 
due regulations. It poises the mind aright. It holds an 
even scale, with regard to anger, and sorrow, and fear ; 
preserving the mean in every circumstance of life, and not 
declining either to the right hand or to the left. 

Meekness, therefore, seems properly to relate to our- 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 241 

selves : but it may be referred either to God or our neigh- 
bour. When this due composure of mind has reference 
to God, it is usually termed resignation ; a calm acquies- 
cence in whatsoever is his will concerning us, even though 
it may not be pleasing to nature ; saying continually, " It 
is the Lord ; let him do what seemeth him good." When 
we consider it more strictly with regard to ourselves, we 
style it patience or contentedness. When it is exerted 
toward other men, then it is mildness to the good, and j 
gentleness to the evil. 

They who are truly meek can clearly discern what is 
evil : and they can also suffer it. They are sensible of 
every thing of this kind, but still meekness holds the reins. 
They are exceeding " zealous for the Lord of hosts ;" but 
their zeal is always guided by knowledge, and tempered, 
in every thought, and word, and work, with the love of 
man as well as the love of God. They do not desire to 
extinguish any of the passions which God has, for wise 
ends, implanted in their nature ; but they have the mas- 
tery of all : they hold them all in subjection, and employ 
them only in subservience to those ends. And thus even 
the harsher and more unpleasing passions are applicable 
to the noblest purposes ; even hatred, and anger, and fear, 
when engaged against sin, and regulated by faith and love, 
are as walls and bulwarks to the soul, so that the wicked 
one cannot approach to hurt it. 

It is evident this divine temper is not only to abide, but \ 
to increase in us day by day. Occasions of exercising, 
and thereby increasing it, will never be wanting while we 
remain upon earth. " We have need of patience that 
after we have done [and suffered] the will of God, we may 
receive the promise." We have need of resignation, that 
we may in all circumstances say, " Not as I will, but as 
thou wilt." And we have need of " gentleness toward all 
men ;" but especially toward the evil and unthankful : 

11 



242 WESLEYANA— OF CHRISTIAN" CHARACTER. 

otherwise we shall be overcome of evil, instead of over- 
coming evil with good. 

Nor does meekness restrain only the outward act, as 
the scribes and Pharisees taught of old, and the miserable 
teachers who are not taught of God will not fail to do in 
all ages. Our Lord guards against this, and shows the 
true extent of it in the following words : " Ye have heard 
that it was said by them of old time, Thou shah not kill ; 
and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judg- 
-ment," Matt, v, 21, &c. " But I say unto you, That who- 
soever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in 
danger of the judgment : and whosoever shall say to his 
brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but who- 
soever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire." 
Sermons, vol. i. pp. 188, 189. 

SECTION Till. 
His Patience. 

What is patience ? We do not now speak of a heathen 
virtue ; neither of a natural indolence ; but of a gracious 
temper wrought in the heart of a believer by the power of 
the Holy Ghost. It is a disposition to suffer whatever 
pleases God, in the manner, and for the time that pleases 
him. We thereby hold the middle way, neither oXiyapav- 
rsc, despising our sufferings, making little of them, passing 
over thein lightly, as if they were owing to chance, or 
second causes ; nor, on the other hand, Ex/.vouevoi, affected 
too much, unnerved, dissolved, sinking under them. We 
may observe, the proper object of patience is suffering, 
either in body or mind. Patience does not imply the not 
feeling this : it is not apathy or insensibility. It is at the 
utmost distance from stoical stupidity ; yea, at an equal 
distance from fretfulness or dejection. The patient be- 
liever is preserved from falling into either of these ex- 



WESLEY ANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 243 

tremes by considering who is the author of all his suffer- 
ing, even God his Father ; what is the motive of his giving 
us to suffer : not so properly his justice as his love : and 
what is the end of it ; our " profit, that we may be parta- 
kers of his holiness." 

Very nearly related to patience is meekness ; if it be 
not rather a species of it. For may it not be defined, Pa- 
tience of injuries ; particularly affronts, reproach, or unjust 
censure 1 This teaches not to return evil for evil, or 
railing for railing ; but contrariwise blessing. Our blessed 
Lord himself seems to place a peculiar value upon this 
temper. This he peculiarly calls us to " learn of him," 
if we would find rest for our souls. 

But what may we understand by the work of patience ? 
" Let patience have its perfect work."_ It seems to moan, 
let it have its full fruit or effect. And what is the fruit 
which the Spirit of God is accustomed to produce hereby 
in the heart of a believer ? One immediate fruit of pa- 
tience is peace : a sweet tranquillity of mind ; a serenity 
of spirit which can never be found unless where patience 
reigns. And this peace often rises into joy. Even in 
the midst of various temptations, those that are enabled 
" in patience to possess their souls," can witness not only 
quietness of spirit, but triumph and exultation. This both 

" Lays the rough paths of peevish nature even, 
And opens in each breast a little heaven." 

How lively is the account which the apostle Peter gives, 
not only of the peace and joy, but of the hope and love 
which God works in those patient sufferers, " who are 
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation !" 
Indeed he appears herein to have an eye to this very pas- 
sage of St. James : " Though ye are grieved for a season 
with manifold temptations, [the very word, 'kolklKolq Keipac- 
piog,] that the trial of your faith [the same expression 



244 WESLEY AX A OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

which was used by St. James] may be found to praise, 
and honour, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ ; 
whom, having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now 
ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory." See here the peace, the joy, and 
the love, which, through the mighty power of God, are the 
fruit or " work of patience," — Sermons, vol. ii,p. 219, 220. 

SECTION IX. 
His Hope. 

One Scriptural mark of those who are born of God is 
hope. Thus St. Peter, speaking to all the children of 
God who were then scattered abroad, saith, " Blessed be 
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, 
according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again 
unto a lively hope," 1 Pet. i, 3. Wfaifo Zoeav, a lively or 
Jiving hope, saith the apostle ; because there is also a dead 
hope, as well as a dead faith ; a hope which is not from 
God, but from the enemy of God and man ; as evidently 
appears by its fruits ; for, as it is the offspring of pride, so 
it is the parent of every evil word and work ; whereas, 
every man that hath in him this living hope is " holy as 
he that calleth him is holy every man tbat can truly 
say to his brethren in Christ, " Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, — and we shall see him as he is," " purifieth 
himself, even as he is pure." 

This hope, (termed, in the epistle to the Hebrews, chap, 
x, 22, / n?,r/po<popLa 7Ti£77£t)f, and elsewhere &Xqpof6pa e?.7TLdog } 
chap, vi, 11 ; in our translation, " the full assurance of 
faith, and the full assurance of hope," expressions the best 
which our language could afford, although far weaker 
than those in the original,) as described in Scripture im- 
plies/ first, The testimony of our own spirit, or conscience, 
that we walk " in simplicity and godly sincerity ;" but 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 245 

secondly and chiefly, The testimony of the Spirit of God 
" bearing witness with," or to 41 our spirit that we are the 
children of God," " and if children, then heirs, heirs of 
God, and joint heirs with Christ." 

Let us well observe what is here taught us by God him- 
self touching this glorious privilege of his children. Who 
is it that is here said to bear witness ? Not our spirit 
only, but another ; even the Spirit of God : he it is who 
" beareth witness with our spirit." What is it he beareth 
witness of 1 " That we are the children of God f " and 
if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
Christ," Rom. viii, 16, 17; "if so be that we suffer with 
him," (if we deny ourselves, if we take up our cross daily, 
if we cheerfully endure persecution or reproach for his 
sake,) " that we may also be glorified together." And in 
whom doth the Spirit of God bear this witness ? In all 
who are the children of God. By this very argument does 
the apostle prove, in the preceding verses, that they are 
so. " As many," saith he, " as are led by the Spirit of 
God, they are the sons of God." " For ye have not 
received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have 
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, 
Father." It follows, " The Spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spirit that we are the children of God," chap, 
viii, 14-16. 

The variation of the phrase in the 15th verse is worthy 
our observation. " Ye have received the Spirit of adop- 
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father !" Ye, as many as 
are the sons of God, have, in virtue of your sonship, re- 
ceived that self-same Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, 
Abba, Father ! We, the apostles, prophets, teachers, (for 
so the word may not improperly be understood,) we, through 
whom you have believed, the " ministers of Christ, and 
stewards of the mysteries of God." As we and you have 
one Lord, so we have one spirit : as we have one faith, 



246 WE SLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

so we have one hope also. We and you are sealed with 
one " Spirit of promise," the earnest of your and of our 
inheritance : the same Spirit bearing witness with your 
and with our spirit, " that we are the children of God." 

And thus is the scripture fulfilled, " Blessed are they 
that mourn, for they shall be comforted." For it is easy 
to believe, that though sorrow may precede this witness 
of God's Spirit with our spirit ; (indeed must, in some 
degree, while we groan under fear, and a sense of the 
wrath of God abiding on us ;) yet, as soon as any man 
feeleth it in himself, his " sorrow is turned into joy." 
Whatsoever his pain may have been before, yet, as soon 
as that " hour is come, he remembereth the anguish no 
more for joy" that he is born of God. It may be many 
of you have now sorrow, because you are " aliens from 
the commonwealth of Israel f because you are conscious 
to yourselves that you have not this Spirit ; that you are 
" without hope and without God in the world." But when 
the Comforter is come, " then your heart shall rejoice ;" 
yea, " your joy shall be full," and " that joy no man taketh 
from you," John xvi, 22. " We joy in God," will ye say, 
" through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
received the atonement ;" " by whom we have access into 
this grace," this state of grace, of favour, or reconciliation 
with God, " wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the 
glory of God," Rom. v, 2. " Ye," saith St. Peter, whom 
God hath 11 begotten again unto a lively hope, are kept by 
the power of God unto salvation : wherein ye greatly rejoice, 
though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness 
through manifold temptations ; that the trial of your faith 
may be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the 
appearing of Jesus Christ : in whom, though now ye see 
him not, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory," 
1 Pet, i, 5, <kc. Unspeakable indeed! It is not for the 
tongue of man to describe this joy in the Holy Ghost. It 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 247 



is " the hidden manna which no man knoweth save he 
that receiveth it." But this we know, it not only remains, 
but overflows in the depth of affliction. " Are the conso- 
lations of God small" with his children, when all earthly 
comforts fail ? Not so. But when sufferings most abound, 
the consolations of his Spirit doth much more abound; 
insomuch that the sons of God " laugh at destruction when 
it cometh ;" at want, pain, hell, and the grave ; as know- 
ing Him who " hath the keys of death and hell," and will 
shortly " cast them into the bottomless pit ;" as hearing 
even now the great voice out of heaven saying, " Behold, 
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with 
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall 
be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe 
away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow, nor crying ; neither shall there be 
any more pain ; for the former things are passed away," 
Rev. xxi, 3, 4. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 157, 158. 



CHAPTER XV. 
OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 

SECTION I. 
Repentance. 

The repentance consequent upon justification is widely 
different from that which is antecedent to it. This implies 
no guilt, no sense of condemnation, no consciousness of 
the wrath of God. It does not suppose any doubt of the 
favour of God, or any " fear that hath torment." It is 
properly a conviction, wrought by the Holy Ghost, of the 



248 WES LEY AX A OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 

sin which still remains in our heart : of the dpovqua capnoc 
the carnal mind, which " does still remain, (as our church 
speaks,) even in them that are regenerate although it 
does no longer reign ; it has not now dominion over them. 
It is a conviction of our proneness to evil, of a heart bent 
to backsliding, of the still continuing tendency of the flesh 
to lust against the Spirit. Sometimes, unless we conti- 
nually watch and pray, it lusteth to pride, sometimes to 
anger, sometimes to love of the world, love of ease, love 
of honour, or love of pleasure more than of God. It is a 
conviction of the tendency of our heart to self-will, to 
atheism or idolatry, and, above all, to unbelief, whereby, 
in a thousand ways, and under a thousand pretences, we 
are ever departing, more or less, from the living God. 

With this conviction of the sin remaining in our hearts 
there is joined a clear conviction of the sin remaining in 
our lives ; still cleaving to all our words and actions. In 
the best of these we now discern a mixture of evil, either 
in the spirit, the matter, or the manner of them ; something 
that could not endure the righteous judgment of God were 
he extreme to mark what is done amiss. Where we least 
suspected it, we find a taint of pride, or self-will, of unbe- 
lief or idolatry ; so that we $re now more ashamed of our 
best duties than formerly of our worst sins : and hence we 
cannot but feel that these are so far from having any 
thing meritorious in them, yea, so far from being able to 
stand in sight of the divine justice, that for those also 
we should be guilty before God, were it not for the blood 
of the covenant. 

Experience shows that, together with the conviction of 
sin remaining in our hearts, and cleaving to all our words 
and actions ; as well as the guilt which on account thereof 
we should incur, were we not continually sprinkled with 
the atoning blood; one thing more is implied in this 
repentance, viz. a conviction of our helplessness, of our 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 249 

utter inability to think one good thought, or to form one 
good desire ; and much more to speak one word aright, or 
to perform one good action, but through his free, almighty 
grace, first preventing us, and then accompanying us 
every moment. 

" But what good works are those the practice of which 
you affirm to be necessary to sanctification V First, all 
works of piety ; such as public prayer, family prayer, and 
praying in our closet ; receiving the supper of the Lord ; 
searching the Scriptures, by hearing, reading, meditating; 
and using such a measure of fasting or abstinence as our 
bodily health allows. 

Secondly, all works of mercy ; whether they relate to 
the bodies or souls of men ; such as feeding the hungry, 
clothing the naked, entertaining the stranger, visiting those 
that are in prison, or sick, or variously afflicted ; such as 
the endeavouring to instruct the ignorant, to awaken the 
stupid sinner, to quicken the lukewarm, to confirm the 
wavering, to comfort the feeble-minded, to succour the 
tempted, or contribute in any manner to the saving of souls 
from death. This is the repentance, and these the " fruits 
meet for repentance," which are necessary to full sancti- 
fication. This is the way wherein God hath appointed 
his children to wait for complete salvation. — Sermons, 
vol. ii, pp. 388, 389. 

SECTION II. 
Prayer. 

All who desire the grace of God are to wait for it in 
the way of prayer. This is the express direction of our 
Lord himself. In his sermon upon the mount, after ex- 
plaining at large wherein religion consists, and describing 
the main branches of it, he adds, " Ask, and it shall be 
given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 

11* 



250 



WESLEYANA— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES, 



opened unto you : for every one that asketh receiveth ; 
and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it 
shall be opened,*' Matt, vii, 7, 8. Here we are in the 
plainest manner directed to ask, in order to, or as a means 
of receiving ; to seek, in order to find the grace of God, 
the pearl of great price ; and to knock, to continue asking 
and seeking, if we would enter into his kingdom. 

That no doubt might remain, our Lord labours this 
point in a more peculiar manner. He appeals to every 
man's own heart. " What man is there of you who, if 
his son ask bread, will he give him a stone I Or if he ask 
a fish, will he give him a serpent ? If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your Father which is in heaven," the 
Father of angels and men, the Father of the spirits of all 
flesh, " give good things to them that ask him?" ver. 9- 
11. Or, as he expresses himself on another occasion, 
including all good things in one, " How much more shall 
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that 
ask him ?" Luke xi, 13. It should be particularly observed 
here, that the persons directed to ask had not then received 
the Holy Spirit : nevertheless our Lord directs them to use 
this means, and promises that it should be effectual ; that 
upon asking they should receive the Holy Spirit from Him 
whose mercy is over all his works. 

The absolute necessity of using this means, if we would 
receive any gift from God, yet farther appears from that 
remarkable passage which immediately precedes these 
words : " And he said unto them," whom he had just 
been teaching how to pray, " Which of you shall have a 
friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and shall say 
unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves : and he from 
within shall answer, Trouble me not; I cannot rise and 
give thee. I say unto you, though he will not rise and 
give him because he is his friend, yet, because of his in> 



WESLEYANA— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 251 

portunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth, 
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you," 
Luke xi, 5, 7, 8, 9, " Though he will not give him, be- 
cause he is his friend, yet, because of his importunity, he 
will rise and give him as many as he needeth." How 
could our blessed Lord more plainly declare, that we may 
receive of God, by this means, by importunately asking, 
what otherwise we should not receive at all ? 

" He spake also another parable to this end, that men 
ought always to pray and not to faint," till through this 
means they should receive of God whatsoever petition they 
asked of him. " There was in a city a judge which 
feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a 
widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying, 
Avenge me of my adversary. And he would not for a 
while ; but afterward he said within himself, Though I 
fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow 
troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest, by her continual 
coming she weary me," Luke xviii, 1-5. The application 
of this our Lord himself hath, made : u Hear what the 
unjust judge saith !" Because she continues to ask, be- 
cause she will take no denial, therefore I will avenge 
her. " And shall not God avenge his own elect which 
cry day and night unto him 1 I tell you he will avenge 
them speedily," if they pray and faint not. 

A direction equally full and express, to wait for the 
blessings of God in private prayer, together with a positive 
promise that, by this means, we shall obtain the request 
of our lips, he hath given us in these well-known words : 
" Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, 
pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father, 
which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly," Matt, 
vi, 6. 

if it be possible for any direction to be more clear, it 
is that which God hath given us by the apostle with 



252 WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 

regard to prayer of every kind, public or private, and the 
blessing annexed thereto. " If any of you lack wisdom, 
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally," (if 
they ask ; otherwise " ye have not, because ye ask not," 
James iv, 2 ; ) " and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given 
him," chap, i, 5. 

If it be objected, But this is no direction to unbelievers ; 
to them who know not the pardoning grace of God : for 
the apostle adds, " But let him ask in faith ;" otherwise 
"let him not think that he shall receive any thing of the 
Lord." I answer, the meaning of the word faith, in this 
place, is fixed by the apostle himself, as if it were on pur- 
pose to obviate this objection, in the words immediately 
following : " Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering," 
nothing doubting, fiedev diaKpivopevoc : not doubting but God 
heareth his prayer, and will fulfil the desire of his heart, 

The gross, blasphemous absurdity of supposing faith in 
this place to be taken in the full Christian meaning, 
appears hence : It is supposing the Holy Ghost to direct a 
man who knows he has not this faith (which is here termed 
wisdom) to ask it of God, with a positive promise that " it 
shall be given him;" and then immediately to subjoin, that 
it shall not be given him, unless he have it before he asks 
for it ! But who can bear such a supposition 1 From this 
scripture, therefore, as well as those cited above, we must 
infer, that all who desire the grace of God are to wait for 
it in the way of prayer. — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 139, 140. 

« And when thou prayest," saith our Lord, " thou shalt 
not be as the hypocrites are : for they love to pray standing 
in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that 
they may be seen of men." " Thou shalt not be as the 
hypocrites are." Hypocrisy, then, or insincerity, is the 
first thing we are to guard against in prayer. Beware not 
to speak what thou dost not mean. Prayer is the lifting 
up of the heart to God : all words of prayer without this 



WESLEYANA— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 253 



are mere hypocrisy. Whenever therefore thou attemptest 
to pray, see that it be thy one design to commune with 
God, to lift up thy heart to him, to pour out thy soul before 
him ; not as the hypocrites, who love, or are wont " to 
pray standing in the synagogues," the exchange, or mar- 
ket-places, " and in the corners of the streets," wherever 
the most people are, "that they may be seen of men." This 
was the sole design, the motive and end, of the prayers 
which they there repeated. " Yerily I say unto you, They 
have their reward." They are to expect none from your 
Father which is in heaven. 

But it is not only the having an eye to the praise of 
men which cuts us off from any reward in heaven, which 
leaves us no room to expect the blessing of God upon our 
works, whether of piety or mercy. Purity of intention is 
equally destroyed by a view to any temporal reward what- 
ever. If we repeat our prayers, if we attend the public 
worship of God, if we relieve the poor, with a view to 
gain or interest, it is not a whit more acceptable to God 
than if it were done with a view to praise. Any tempo- 
ral view, any motive whatever on this side eternity, any 
design but that of promoting the glory of God, and the 
happiness of men for God's sake, makes every action, 
however fair it may appear to men, an abomination unto 
the Lord. 

" But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when 
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in 
secret." There is a time when thou art openly to glorify 
God, to pray to and praise him in the great congregation. 
But when thou desirest more largely and more particularly 
to make thy requests known unto God, whether it be in 
the evening, or in the morning, or at noon-day, " enter 
into thy closet, and shut thy door." Use all the privacy 
thou canst. (Only leave it not undone, whether thou hast 
any closet, any privacy, or no. Pray to God, if it be pos- 



254 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 



sible, when none seeth but he ; but, if otherwise, pray to 
God.) Thus u pray to thy Father which is in secret ;" 
pour out all thy heart before him; "and thy Father which 
seeth in secret, he shall reward thee openly." 

" But when ye pray," even in secret, " use not vain re- 
petitions as the heathen do ; /us l3aTTo?ioyrjG7jre. Do not use 
abundance of words without any meaning. Say not the 
same thing over and over again ; think not the fruit of your 
prayers depends on the length of them, like the heathens ; 
for " they think they shall be heard for their much speak- 
ing." 

The thing here reproved is not simply the length, any 
more than the shortness, of our prayers ; but, First, length 
without meaning ; speaking much, and meaning little or 
nothing ; the using (not all repetitions ; for our Lord him- 
self prayed thrice, repeating the same words ; but) vain 
repetitions, as the heathens did, reciting the names of 
their gods over and over, as they do among Christians, 
(vulgarly so called,) and not among the papists only, who 
say over and over the same string of prayers, without ever 
feeling what they speak ; — Secondly, the thinking to be 
heard for our much speaking, the fancying God measures 
prayers by their length, and is best pleased with those 
which contain the most words, which sound the longest 
in his ears. These are such instances of superstition and 
folly as all who are named by the name of Christ should 
leave to the heathens — to them on whom the glorious 
light of the gospel hath never shined. 

"Be not ye therefore like unto them." Ye who have 
tasted of the grace of God in Christ Jesus are thoroughly 
convinced "your Father knoweth what things ye have 
need of before ye ask him." So that the end of your 
praying is not to inform God, as though he knew not your 
wants already, but rather to inform yourselves ; to fix the 
sense of those wants more deeply in your hearts, and the 



WESLEY AN A — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 255 



sense of your continual dependance on Him who only is 
able to supply all your wants. It is not so much to move 
God, who is always more ready to give than you to ask, 
as to move yourselves, that you may be willing and ready 
to receive the good things he has prepared for you. — Ser- 
mons, vol. i, pp. 235, 236. 

SECTION III. 
Searching the Scriptures. 

All who desire the grace of God are to wait for it in 
searching the Scriptures. 

Our Lord's direction, with regard to the use of this 
means, is likewise plain and clear. " Search the Scrip- 
tures," saith he to the unbelieving Jews, " for they testify 
of me," John v, 39. And for this very end did he direct 
them to search the Scriptures, that they might believe in 
him. 

The objection, "that this is not a command, but only an 
assertion that they did search the Scriptures," is shame- 
lessly false. I desire those who urge it to let us know 
how a command can be more clearly expressed than in 
those terms, Epeware raq ypafagl It is as peremptory as so 
many words can make it. 

And what a blessing from God attends the use of this 
means appears from what is recorded concerning the TJe- 
reans, who, after hearing St. Paul, " searched the Scrip- 
tures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore 
many of them believed" — found the grace of God in the 
way which he had ordained. Acts xvii, 11, 12. 

It is probable, indeed, that in some of those who had 
" received the word with all readiness of mind," " faith 
came" (as the same apostle speaks) " by hearing," and 
was only confirmed by reading the Scriptures ; but it was 
observed above that, under the general term of searching 



256 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 



the Scriptures, both hearing, reading, and meditating are 
contained. 

And that this is a means whereby God not only gives, 
but also confirms and increases, true wisdom, we learn 
from the words of St. Paul to Timothy : " From a child 
thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to 
make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in 
Christ Jesus," 2 Tim. iii, 15. The same truth (namely, 
that this is the great means God has ordained for convey- 
ing his manifold grace to man) is delivered, in the fullest 
manner that can be conceived, in the words which imme- 
diately follow : "All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God;" consequently all Scripture is infallibly true; "and 
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness ;" to the end " that the man 
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good 
works," ver. 16, 17. 

It should be observed that this is spoken primarily and 
directly of the Scriptures which Timothy had known from 
a child ; which must have been those of the Old Testa- 
ment, for the New was not then wrote. How far, then, 
was St. Paul (though he was "not a whit behind the very 
chief of the apostles," nor, therefore, I presume, behind 
any man now upon earth) from making light of the Old 
Testament ! Behold this, lest ye one day " wonder and 
perish," ye who make so small account of one half of the 
oracles of God ! yea, and that half of which the Holy 
Ghost expressly declares that it is "profitable," as a means 
ordained of God, for this very thing, "for doctrine, for re- 
proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ;" to 
the end, "the man of God maybe perfect, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works." * 

Nor is this profitable only for the men of God, for those 
who walk already in the light of his countenance ; but 
also for those who are yet in darkness, seeking Him whom 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 257 

they know not. Thus St. Peter : " We have also a more 
sure word of prophecy," literally, " And we have the pro- 
phetic word more sure ;" Kac exofzev (3s(3atorepov rov npo^Tj^ 
tlkov ?,oyov ; confirmed by our being " eye-witnesses of his 
majesty," and " hearing the voice which came from the 
excellent glory ;" unto which [prophetic word ; so he 
styles the Holy Scriptures] "ye do well that ye take heed, 
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day 
dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts," 2 Pet. i, 19. 
Let all, therefore, who desire that day to dawn upon their 
hearts wait for it in searching the Scriptures. — Sermons, 
vol. i, pp. 140-142. 

SECTION IV. 
Partaking of the LoroVs Supper. 
All who desire an increase of the grace of God are to 
wait for it in partaking of the Lord's supper : for this also 
is a direction himself hath given. " The same night in 
which he was betrayed, he took bread, and brake it, and 
said, Take, eat : this is my body," that is, the sacred sign 
of my body : " This do in remembrance of me." " Like- 
wise he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new testa- 
ment," or covenant, in my blood ; the sacred sign of that 
covenant; "this do ye in remembrance of me." ''For as 
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show 
forth the Lord's death till he come," 1 Cor. xi, 23, &c, 
ye openly exhibit the same, by these visible signs, before 
God, and angels, and men ; ye manifest your solemn re- 
membrance of his death till he cometh in the clouds of 
heaven. 

Only let a man first examine himself, whether he under- 
stand the nature and design of this holy institution, and 
whether he really desire to be himself made conformable 
to the death of Christ; and so, nothing doubting, "let him 
eat of that bread, and drink of that cup," ver. 28. 



258 



WESLEY AN A—OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES* 



Here, then, the direction first given by our Lord is 
expressly repeated by the apostle. Let him eat; let 
him drink ; '(eoti-ieru, ncvero, both in the imperative 
mood ;) words not implying a bare permission only, but a 
clear, explicit command ; a command to all those who 
either already are filled with peace and joy in believing, 
or can truly say, "The remembrance of our sins is grievous 
unto us ; the burden of them is intolerable." 

And that this is also an ordinary, stated means of re- 
ceiving the grace of God, is evident from those words of 
the apostle which occur in the preceding chapter : " The 
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion 
[or communication] of the blood of Christ? The bread 
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of 
Christ?" 1 Cor. x, 16. Is not the eating of that bread, 
and the drinking of that cup, the outward, visible means 
whereby God conveys into our souls all that spiritual 
grace, that righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost, which were, purchased by the body of Christ once 
broken, and the blood of Christ once shed for us ? Let all, 
therefore, who truly desire the grace of God, eat of that 
bread, and drink of that cup. — Sermons, vol. i, p. 142. 

The first reason why it is the duty of every Christian 
so to do is, because it is a plain command of Christ. That 
this is his command appears from the words of the text : 
" Do this in remembrance of me," by which as the apos- 
tles were obliged to*bless, break, and give the bread to all 
that joined with them in these holy things ; so were all 
Christians obliged to receive those signs of Christ's body 
and blood. Here, therefore, the bread and wine are com- 
manded to be received, in remembrance of his death, to 
the end of the world. Observe, too, that this command 
was given by our Lord, when he was just laying down 
his life for our sakes. They are, therefore, as it were, 
his dying words to all his followers. 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 259 

A second reason why every Christian should do this as 
often as he can is, because the benefits of doing it are so 
great to ail that do it in obedience to him, viz., the for- 
giveness of our past sins, the present strengthening and 
refreshing of our souls. In this world we are never free 
from temptations. Whatever way of life we are in, what- 
ever our condition be, whether we are sick or well, in 
trouble or at ease, the enemies of our souls are watching 
to lead us into sin. And too often they prevail over us, 
Now when we are convinced of having sinned against 
God, what surer way have we of procuring pardon from 
him than the " showing forth the Lord's death," and be- 
seeching him, for the sake of his Son's sufferings, to blot 
out all our sins 1 

The grace of God given herein confirms to us the par- 
don of our sins, and enables us to leave them. As our 
bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our 
souls by these tokens of the body and the blood of Christ. 
This is the food of our souls : this gives strength to per- 
form our duty, and leads us on to perfection. If, there- 
fore, we have any regard for the plain command of Christ, 
if we desire the pardon of our sins, if we wish for strength 
to believe, to love and obey God, then we should neglect 
no opportunity of receiving the Lord's supper ; then we 
must never turn our backs on the feast which our Lord 
has prepared for us. We must neglect no occasion which 
the good providence of God affords us for this purpose. 
This is the true rule : so often are we to receive as God 
gives us opportunity. Whoever, therefore, does not re- 
ceive, but goes from the holy table, when all things are 
prepared, either does not understand his duty, or does not 
care for the dying command of his Saviour, the forgive- 
ness of his sins, the strengthening of his soul, and the 
refreshing it with the hope of glory. 

Let every one, therefore, who has either any desire to 



260 



WESLEY AN A— -0 F CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 



please God, or any love of his soul, obey God, and con- 
sult the good of his own soul, by communicating every 
time he can ; like the first Christians, with whom the 
Christian sacrifice was a constant part of the Lord's day 
service. And for several centuries they received it almost 
every day : four times a week always, and every saint's 
day besides. Accordingly, those that joined in the prayers 
of the faithful never failed to partake of the blessed sacra- 
ment. What opinion they had of any who turned his back 
upon it, we may learn from that ancient canon : " If any 
believer join in the prayers of the faithful, and go away 
without receiving the Lord's supper, let him be excom- 
municated, as bringing confusion into the church of God." 

In order to understand the nature of the Lord's supper, 
it would be useful carefully to read over those passages 
in the gospel, and in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 
which speak of the institution of it. Hence we learn that 
the design of this sacrament is the continual remembrance 
of the death of Christ, by eating bread and drinking wine, 
which are the outward signs of the inward grace, the body 
and blood of Christ. 

It is highly expedient for those who purpose to receive 
this, whenever their time will permit, to prepare them- 
selves for this solemn ordinance by self-examination and 
prayer. But this is not absolutely necessary. And when 
we have not time for it, we should see that we have the 
habitual preparation which is absolutely necessary ; and 
can never be dispensed with on any account, or any occa- 
sion whatever. This is, first, a full purpose of heart to 
keep all the commandments of God; and, secondly, a sin- 
cere desire to receive all his promises.— Sermons, vol. ii, 
pp. 350, 351. 



WESLEY AN A— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 261 



SECTION V. 

Self -Examination . 

u Be serious and frequent in the examination of your 
heart and life. There are some duties like those parts of 
the body the want of which may be supplied by other 
parts ; but the want of these nothing can supply. Every 
evening review your carriage through the day ; what you 
have done or thought that was unbecoming your charac- 
ter : whether your heart has been instant upon religion, 
and indifferent to the world. Have a special care of two 
portions of time, namely, morning and evening : the morn- 
ing to forethink what you have to do, and the evening to 
examine whether you have done what you ought,— Ser- 
mons, vol. ii, p. 381 o 

SECTION VI. 
God to be regarded as the End of our Works. 

Have no end, no ultimate end, but God. Thus our 
Lord, " One thing is needful and if thine eye be singly 
fixed on this one thing, " thy whole body shall be full of 
light." Thus St. Paul : " This one thing I do ; I press 
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ 
Jesus." Thus St. James : " Cleanse your hands, ye sin- 
ners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded." Thus 
St. John : " Love not the world, neither the things that are 
in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the 
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of 
the Father, but is of the world." The seeking happiness 
in what gratifies either the desire of the flesh, by agree- 
ably striking upon the outward senses ; the desire of the 
eye, of the imagination, by its novelty, greatness, or beauty ; 
or the pride of life, whether by pomp, grandeur, power, or 
the usual consequence of them, applause and admiration, 



262 WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 



" is not of the Father," cometh not from, neither is ap- 
proved by, the Father of spirits, "but of the world :" it is 
the distinguishing mark of those who will not have him 
to reign over them. 

Here, then, is the sum of the perfect law — this is the 
true circumcision of the heart. Let the spirit return to 
God that gave it, with the whole train of its affections. 
^Unto the place from whence all the rivers came," thither 
let them flow again. Other sacrifices from us he would 
not ; but the living sacrifice of the heart he hath chosen. 
Let it be continually offered up to God through Christ, in 
flames of holy love. And let no creature be suffered to 
share with him : for he is a jealous God. His throne will 
he not divide with another : he will reign without a rival. 
Be no design, no desire admitted there, but what has him 
for its ultimate object. This is the way wherein those 
children of God once walked who, being dead, still speak 
to us : " Desire not to live, but to praise his name : let all 
your thoughts, words, and works tend to his glory. Set 
your heart firm on him, and on other things only as they 
are in and from him. Let your soul be filled with so en- 
tire a love of him that you may love nothing but for his 
sake." " Have a pure intention of heart, a steadfast regard 
to his glory in all your actions." " Fix your eye upon the 
blessed hope of your calling, and make all the things of 
the world minister unto it." For then, and not till then, 
is that " mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus :" 
when, in every motion of our heart, in every word of our 
tongue, in every work of our hands, we " pursue nothing 
but in relation to him, and in subordination to his plea- 
sure :" when we, too, neither think, nor speak, nor act, to 
fulfil our " own will, but the will of Him that sent us :" 
when, whether we "eat, or drink, or whatever we do, we 
do all to the glory of God." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 151-153, 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 263 



SECTION VII. 

Meekness and Love under Persecution. 

The meekness and love we are to feel, the kindness 
we are to show to them who persecute us for righteous- 
ness' sake, our blessed Lord describes farther in the fol- 
lowing verses. O that they were engraven upon our hearts ! 
" Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy," Matt, v, 43, &c. 
God, indeed, had said only the former part, " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbour the children of the devil had added 
the latter, "and hate thy enemy." "But I say unto you," 
1. "Love your enemies :" see that you bear a tender good 
will to those who are most bitter of spirit against you — 
who wish you all manner of evil. 2. " Bless them that 
curse you." Are there any whose bitterness of spirit 
breaks forth in bitter words ? who are continually cursing 
and reproaching you when you are present, and " saying 
ail evil against you" when absent? So much the rather do 
you bless : in conversing with them, use all mildness and 
softness of language. Reprove them by repeating a better 
lesson before them, by showing them how they ought to 
have spoken. And in speaking of them, say all the good 
you can, without violating the rules of truth and justice. 
3. " Do good to them that hate you." Let your actions 
show that you are as real in love as they in hatred. Re- 
turn good for evil. " Be not overcome of evil, but over- 
come evil with good." 4. If you can do nothing more, at 
least " pray for them that despitefully use you and perse- 
cute you." You can never be disabled from doing this ; 
nor can all their malice or violence hinder you. Pour 
out your souls to God, not only for those who did this 
once, but now repent ; this is a little thing : " if thy bro- 
ther, seven times a day, turn and say unto thee, I repent," 



264 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES 



Luke xvii, 3, that is, if, after ever so many relapses, lie 
give thee reason to believe that he is really and thoroughly 
changed, then thou shalt forgive him so as to trust him, to 
put him in thy bosom, as if he had never sinned against 
thee at all : but pray for, wrestle with God for those that 
do not repent, that now despitefully use thee and perse- 
cute thee. Thus far forgive them, "not until seven times 
only, but until seventy times seven," Matt, xviii, 22, 
Whether they repent or no, yea, though they appear far- 
ther and farther from it, yet show them this instance of 
kindness, "that ye may be the children/' that ye may ap- 
prove yourselves the genuine children, ' : of your Father 
which is in heaven," who shows his goodness by giving 
such blessings as they are capable of even to his stub- 
bornest enemies," who makeih the sun to rise on the evil 
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the 
unjust." u For if ye love them which love you, what re- 
ward have ye ? Do not even the publicans the same \ n 
ver. 46 — who pretend to no religion, whom ye yourselves 
acknowledge to be without God in the world. " And if 
ye salute," show kindness in word or deed to "your bre- 
thren," your friends or kinsfolk, M only, what do ye mere 
than others'' — than those who have no religion at all ? 
" Do not even the publicans so ?" Nay, but follow ye a 
better pattern than them. In patience, in long suffering, 
in mercy, in beneficence of every kind, to all, even to 
your bitterest persecutors. " be ye [Christians] perfect, 
[in kind, though not in degree,] even as your Father, 
which is in heaven is perfect," ver. IS.— Sermons, vol. i, 
pp. 203,209. 

SECTION VIII. 
Religion to be exemplified in the Conduct. 

It is impossible for any that have it to conceal the reli- 
gion of Jesus Christ. This cur Lord makes plain beyond 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DITTIES. 265 

all contradiction, by a twofold comparison : "Ye are the 
light of the world : a city set upon a hill cannot be hid." 
Ye Christians are " the light of the world," with regard 
both to your tempers and actions. Your holiness makes 
you as conspicuous as the sun in the midst of heaven. As 
ye cannot go out of the world, so neither can ye stay in 
it without appearing to all mankind. Ye may not flee 
from men ; and while ye are among them, it is impossible 
to hide your lowliness and meekness, and those other dis- 
positions whereby ye aspire to be perfect as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect. Love cannot be hid any 
more than light ; and least of all, when it shines forth in 
action, when ye exercise yourselves in the labour of love, 
in beneficence of every kind. As well may men think to 
hide a city as to hide a Christian ; yea, as well may they 
conceal a city set upon a hill as a holy, zealous, active 
lover of God and man. 

It is true, men who love darkness rather than light be- 
cause their deeds are evil will take all possible pains to 
prove that the light which is in you is darkness. They 
will say evil, all manner of evil, falsely of the good which 
is in you ; they will lay to your charge that which is far- 
thest from your thoughts, which is the very reverse of all 
you are and all you do. And your patient continuing in 
well doing, your meek suffering all things for the Lord's 
sake, your calm, humble joy in the midst of persecution, 
your unwearied labour to overcome evil with good, will 
make you still more visible and conspicuous than ye were 
before. 

So impossible it is to keep our religion from being seen, 
unless we cast it away; so vain is the thought of hiding 
the light, unless by putting it out ! Sure it is, that a secret, 
unobserved religion, cannot be the religion of Jesus Christ. 
Whatever religion can be concealed is not Christianity. 
If a Christian could be hid, he could not be compared to 

12 



266 WES LEY AX A— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES- 

a city set upon a hill ; to the light of the world, the sun 
shining from heaven, and seen by all the world below. 
Never, therefore, let it enter into the heart of him whom 
God hath renewed in the spirit of his mind to hide that 
light, to keep his religion to himself, especially consider- 
ing it is not only impossible to conceal true Christianity, 
but likewise absolutely contrary to the design of the great 
Author of it. 

This plainly appears from the following words : " Nei- 
ther do men light a candle to put it under a bushel." As 
if he had said, As men do not light a candle only to cover 
and conceal it, so neither does God enlighten any soul 
with his glorious knowledge and love to have it covered 
or concealed, either by prudence, falsely so called, or 
shame, or voluntary humility ; to have it hid either in a 
desert, or in the world; either by avoiding men, or in con- 
versing with them. "But they put it on a candlestick, 
and it giveth light to all that are in the house." In like 
manner, it is the design of God that every Christian should 
be in an open point of view, that he may give light to all 
around, that he may visibly express the religion of Jesus 
Christ, 

Thus hath God in ail ages spoken to the world, not 
only by precept, but by example also. He hath "not left 
himself without witness" in any nation where the sound 
of the gospel hath gone forth, without a few who have 
testified his truth by their lives as well as their words. 
These have been " as lights shining in a dark place." And 
from time to time they have been the means of enlighten- 
ing some, of preserving a remnant, a little seed which 
was " counted unto the Lord for a generation." They 
have led a few poor sheep out of the darkness of the world, 
and guided their feet into the way of peace. — Sermons, 
vol. i, pp. 215,216. 



WES LEY ANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 267 



SECTION IX. 
Self-denial and taking up the Cross. 

But what is self-denial % Wherein are we to deny our- 
selves ? And whence does the necessity of this arise 7 I 
answer, The will of God is the supreme, unalterable rule 
for every intelligent creature, equally binding every angel 
in heaven and every man upon earth. Nor can it be 
otherwise. This is the natural, necessary result of the 
relation between creatures and their Creator. But if the 
will of God be our one rule of action in every thing, great 
and small, it follows, by undeniable consequence, that we 
are not to do our own will in any thing. Here, therefore, 
we see at once the nature, with the ground and reason, 
of self-denial. We see the nature of self-denial: it is 
the denying or refusing to follow our own will, from a 
conviction that the will of God is the only rule of action 
to us. And we see the reason thereof, because we are 
creatures, because " it is he that hath made us, and not 
we ourselves." '&sm 

This reason for self-denial must hold, even with regard 
to the angels of God in heaven, and with regard to man 
innocent and holy, as he came out of the hands of his 
Creator. But a farther reason for it arises from the con- 
dition wherein all men are since the fall. We are all 
now " shapen in wickedness, and in sin did our mother 
conceive us." Our nature is altogether corrupt, in every 
power and faculty. And our will, depraved equally with 
the rest, is wholly bent to indulge our natural corruption. 
On the other hand, it is the will of God that we resist and 
counteract that corruption, not at some times, or in some 
things only, but at all times and in all things. Here, 
therefore, is a farther ground for constant and universal 
self-denial. 



268 WESLEY AN A— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 

To illustrate this a little farther. The will of God is a 
path leading straight to God. The will of man, which 
once ran parallel with it, is now another path, not 
only different from it, but, in our present state, directly- 
contrary to it : it leads from God. If, therefore, we walk 
in the one, we must necessarily quit the other. We can- 
not walk in both. Indeed, a man of faint heart and feeble 
hands may go in two ways, one after the other. But he 
cannot walk in two ways at the same time. He cannot, 
at one and the same time, follow his own will, and follow 
the will of God : he must choose the one, or the other — 
denying God's will to follow his own, or denying himself 
to follow the will of God. 

Now it is undoubtedly pleasing, for the time, to follow 
our own will by indulging, in any instance that offers, the 
corruption of our nature ; but by following it in any thing, 
we so far strengthen the perverseness of our will ; and by 
indulging it, we continually increase the corruption of our 
nature. So, by the food which is agreeable to the palate, 
we often increase a bodily disease : it gratifies the taste, 
but it inflames the disorder ; it brings pleasure, but it also 
brings death. 

On the whole, then, to deny ourselves is to deny our 
own will where it does not fall in with the will of God ; 
and that, however pleasing it may be. It is to deny our- 
selves any pleasure which does not spring from and lead 
to God : that is, in effect, to refuse going out of our way, 
though into a pleasant, flowery path ; to refuse what we 
know to be deadly poison, though agreeable to the taste. 
Sermons, vol. i, pp. 428, 429. 

The "taking up" differs a little from "bearing the cross." 
We are then properly said to " bear our cross" when we 
endure what is laid upon us without our choice with meek- 
ness and resignation. 

Whereas we do not properly " take up our cross" but 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 269 

when we voluntarily suffer what is in our power to avoid; 
when we willingly embrace the will of God, though con- 
trary to our own; when we choose what is painful, because 
it is the will of our wise and gracious Creator. 

And thus it behooves every disciple of Christ to take up 
as well as to bear his cross. Indeed, in one sense it is 
not his alone : it is common to him and many others, see- 
ing there is no temptation befalls any man, ei fi?j avdpomvo^ 
" but such as is common to men," such as is incident and 
adapted to their common nature and situation in the pre- 
sent world. But, in another sense, as it is considered with 
all its circumstances, it is his, peculiar to himself ; it is 
prepared of God for him ; it is given by God to him as a 
token of his love. And if he receives it as such, and, after 
using such means to remove the pressure as Christian 
wisdom directs, lies as clay in the potter's hand ; it is dis- 
posed and ordered by God for his good, both with regard 
to the quality of it, and in respect to its quantity and de- 
gree, its duration and every other circumstance. 

In all this we may easily conceive our blessed Lord to 
act as the physician of our souls, not merely " for his [own] 
pleasure, but for our profit, that we may be partakers of his 
holiness." If, in searching our wounds, he puts us to pain, 
it is only in order to heal them. He cuts away what is 
putrefied or unsound in order to preserve the sound part. 
And if we freely choose the loss of a limb rather than the 
whole body should perish, how much more should we 
choose, figuratively, to cut off a right hand rather than the 
whole soul should be cast into hell ! 

We see plainly, then, both the nature and ground of 
taking up our cross. It does not imply the disciplining 
ourselves (as some speak ;) the literally tearing our own 
flesh; the wearing hair-cloth, or iron girdles, or any thing 
else that would impair our bodily health, (although we 
know not what allowance God may make for those who 



270 WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 



act thus through involuntary ignorance ;) but the embracing 
the will of God, though contrary to our own ; the choosing 
wholesome, though bitter medicines ; the freely accepting 
temporary pain, of whatever kind, and in whatever degree, 
when it is either essentially or accidentally necessary to 
eternal pleasure. — Sermons, vol. i, p. 430. 

SECTION X. 
Obedience to Parents. 

It has been a subject of controversy for many years 
whether there are any innate principles in the mind of man. 
But it is allowed, on all hands, if there be any practical 
principles naturally implanted in the soul, that we ought to 
honour our parents will claim this character almost before 
any other. It is enumerated among those universal prin- 
ciples by the most ancient authors, and is undoubtedly 
found even among most savages in the most barbarous na- 
tions. We may trace it through all the extent of Europe 
and Asia, through the wilds of Africa and the forests of 
America. And it is not less, but more observable in the 
most civilized nations. So it was, first in the eastern parts 
of the world, which were for so many ages the seat of em- 
pire, of learning and politeness, as well as of religion. So 
it was afterward, in all the Grecian states, and throughout 
the whole Roman empire. In this respect it is plain, they 
that " have not the [written] law are a law unto them- 
selves," showing "the work [the substance] of the law" to 
be "written in their hearts." 

And wherever God has revealed his will to man, this 
law has been a part of that revelation. It has been herein 
considerably opened afresh, enlarged, and enforced in the 
strongest manner. In the Jewish revelation the notorious 
breakers thereof were punishable with death. And this 
was one of the laws which our blessed Lord did not come 
to destroy, but to fulfil. Accordingly, he severely reproved 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 271 

the scribes and Pharisees for making it void through their 
traditions, clearly showing that the obligation thereof ex- 
tended to all ages. It is the substance of this which 
St. Paul delivers to the Ephesians, (chap, vi, 1,) "Chil- 
dren, obey your parents in the Lord ;" and again in these 
words to the Colossians, " Children, obey your parents in 
all things. " 

It is observable that the apostle enforces this duty by a 
threefold encouragement : First, to the Ephesians he adds, 
" For this is right :" it is an instance of justice as well as 
mercy. It is no more than their due ; it is what we owe 
to them for the very being which we have received from 
them. Secondly, " This is acceptable to the Lord :" it is 
peculiarly pleasing to the great Father of men and angels 
that we should pay honour and obedience to the fathers of 
our flesh. Thirdly, It is " the first commandment with 
promise :" the first to the performance whereof a peculiar 
promise is annexed ; " that it may be well with thee, and 
that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy 
God giveth thee." This promise has been generally un- 
derstood to include health and temporal blessings, as well 
as long life. And we have seen innumerable proofs that 
it belongs to the Christian as well as the Jewish dispen- 
sation : many remarkable instances of its accomplishment 
occur even at this day. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 316, 317. 

SECTION XI. 
Bigotry to be guarded against. 

It is certain, so long as we know but in part, that all 
men will not see all things alike. It is an unavoidable 
consequence of the present weakness and shortness of hu- 
man understanding, that several men will be of several 
minds in religion as well as in common life. So it has 
been from the beginning of the world, and so it will be 
" till the restitution of all things." 



272 WESLEY AX A — OF CHRISTIAN" DUTIES. 

Nay. farther : although every man necessarily believes 
that every particular opinion which he holds is true, (for 
to believe any opinion is not true is the same thing as not 
to hold it.) yet can no man be assured that all his own 
opinions, taken together, are true. Nay, every thinking 
man is assured they are not ; seeing Humanum est errare 
et nescire : To be ignorant of many things, and to mistake 
in some, is the necessary condition of humanity. This, 
therefore, he is sensible is his own case. He knows, in 
the general, that he himself is mistaken ; although in what 
particulars he mistakes, he does not, perhaps he cannot 
know. 

I say, perhaps he cannot know ; for who can tell how 
far invincible ignorance may extend ? or (what comes to 
the same thing) invincible prejudice ! which is often so 
fixed in tender minds, that it is afterward impossible to 
tear up what has taken so deep a root. And who can say, 
unless he knew every circumstance attending it, how far 
any mistake is culpable ? seeing all guilt must suppose 
some concurrence of the will, of which He only can judge 
who searcheth the heart. 

Every wise man, therefore, will allow others the same 
liberty of thinking which he desires they should allow 
him ; and will no more insist on their embracing his 
opinions than he would have them to insist on his em- 
bracing theirs. He bears with those who differ from him, 
and only asks him with whom he desires to unite in love 
that single question, " Is thy heart right, as my heart is 
with thy heart V' — Sermons, vol. i. p. 348. 

I need add but one caution [more :] think not the bigotry 
of another is any excuse for your own. It is not impos- 
sible that one who casts out devils himself may yet forbid 
you so to do. You may observe this is the very case 
mentioned in the text. The apostles forbade another to 
do what they did themselves. But beware of retorting. 



WESLEY ANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 273 

It is not your part to return evil for evil. Another's not 
observing the direction of our Lord is no reason why you 
should neglect it. Nay, but let him have all the bigotry 
to himself. If he forbid you, do not you forbid him. Ra- 
ther labour, and watch, and pray the more to confirm your 
love toward him. If he speak all manner of evil of you, 
speak all manner of good (that is true) of him. Imitate 
herein that glorious saying of a great man, (0 that he had 
always breathed the same spirit !) " Let Luther call me a 
hundred devils ; I will still reverence him as a messenger 
of God." — Sermons, vol. i, p. 346. 

SECTION XII. 

Worldly Care to be avoided. 

"Therefore take no thought for the morrow." Not 
only take ye no thought how to lay up treasures on earth, 
how to increase in worldly substance ; take no thought 
how to procure more food than you can eat, or more rai- 
ment than you can put on, or more money than is required 
from day to day for the plain, reasonable purposes of life ; 
but take no uneasy thought, even concerning those things 
which are absolutely needful for the body. Do not trou- 
ble yourself now with thinking what you shall do at a 
season which is yet afar off. Perhaps that season will 
never come, or it will be no concern of yours. Before 
then you will have passed through all the waves, and be 
landed in eternity. All those distant views do not belong 
to you, who are but a creature of a day. Nay, what have 
you to do with the morrow, more strictly speaking? Why 
should you perplex yourself without need ? God provides 
for you to-day what is needful to sustain the life which he 
hath given you. It is enough : give yourself up into his 
hands ; if you live another day, he will provide for that 
also. 



274 WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 

Above all, do not make the care of future things a pre- 
tence for neglecting present duty. This is the most fatal 
way of "taking thought for the morrow." And how com- 
mon is it among men ! Many, if we exhort them to keep a 
conscience void of offence, to abstain from what they are 
convinced is evil, do not scruple to reply, " How then 
must we live ? Must we not take care of ourselves and of 
our families ?" And this they imagine to be a sufficient 
reason for continuing in known, wilful sin. They say, 
and perhaps think, they would serve God now were it not 
that they should, by and by, lose their bread. They would 
prepare for eternity ; but they are afraid of wanting the 
necessaries of life. So they serve the devil for a morsel 
of bread ; they rush into hell for fear of want ; they throw 
away their poor souls, lest they should, some time or 
other, fall short of what is needful for their bodies ! 

It is not strange that they who thus take the matter out 
of God's hand should be so often disappointed of the very 
things they seek ; that while they throw away heaven to 
secure the things of earth, they lose the one, but do not 
gain the other. The jealous God, in the wise course of 
his providence, frequently suffers this : so that they who 
will not cast their care on God, who, taking thought for 
temporal things, have little concern for things eternal, lose 
the very portion which they have chosen. There is a 
visible blast on all their undertakings ; whatsoever they 
do, it doth not prosper ; insomuch that, after they have 
forsaken God for the world, they lose what they sought, 
as well as what they sought not : they fall short of the 
kingdom of God and his righteousness, nor yet are other 
things added unto them. 

It is possible to take thought in a wrong manner, even 
with regard to spiritual things ; to be so careful about what 
may be by and by as to neglect what is now required at 
our hands. How insensibly do we slide into this, if we 



WESLEYANA OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 275 

are not continually watching unto prayer? How easily are 
we carried away, in a kind of waking dream, projecting 
distant schemes, and drawing fine scenes in our own ima- 
gination ! We think what good we will do when we are 
in such a place, or when such a time is come ! How use- 
ful we will be, how plenteous in good works, when we 
are easier in our circumstances ! How earnestly we will 
serve God when once such a hinderance is out of the 
way ! 

Or perhaps you are now in heaviness of soul : God, as 
it were, hides his face from you. You see little of the 
light of his countenance : you cannot taste his redeeming 
love. In such a temper of mind how natural is it to say, 
" O how will I praise God when the light of his counte- 
nance shall be again lifted up upon my soul ! How will I 
exhort others to praise him when his love is again shed 
abroad in my heart ! Then I will do thus and thus : I will 
speak for God in all places ; I will not be ashamed of the 
gospel of Christ. Then I will redeem the time. I will 
use to the uttermost every talent I have received." Do 
not believe thyself. Thou wilt not do it then, unless thou 
doest it now. " He that is faithful in that which is little," 
of whatsoever kind it be, whether it be worldly substance, 
or the fear or love of God, " will be faithful in that which 
is much." But if thou now hidest one talent in the earth, 
thou wilt then hide five : that is, if ever they are given ; 
but there is small reason to expect they ever will. In- 
deed, " unto him that hath," that is, uses what he hath, 
"shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly. But 
from him that hath not," that is, uses not the grace which 
he hath already received, whether in a larger or smaller 
degree, "shall be taken away even that which he hath." 

And take no thought for the temptations of to-morrow. 
This also is a dangerous snare. Think not, " When such 
a temptation comes, what shall I do ? how shall I stand ? 



276 



WESLEY AN A — OF CHRISTIAN DITTIES. 



I feel I have not power to resist ; I am not able to con- 
quer that enemy." Most true : you have not now the 
power which you do not now stand in need of. You are 
not able at this time to conquer that enemy, and at this 
time he does not assault you. With the grace you have 
now you could not withstand the temptations which you 
have not. But when the temptation comes, the grace will 
come. In greater trials you will have greater strength. 
When sufferings abound, the consolations of God will, in 
the same proportion, abound also. So that in every situa- 
tion the grace of God will be sufficient for you. He doth 
not suffer you "to be tempted" to-day "above that ye are 
able to bear;" and " in every temptation he will make a 
way to escape." "As thy days, so thy strength shall be." 

" Let the morrow," therefore, " take thought for the 
things of itself ;" that is, when the morrow comes, then 
think of it. Live thou to-day. Be it thy earnest care to 
improve the present hour. This is your own, and it is 
your all. The past is as nothing, as though it had never 
been. The future is nothing to you ; it is not yours ; per- 
haps it never will be. There is no depending on what is 
yet to come ; for you " know not what a day may bring 
forth." Therefore live to-day; lose not an hour; use this 
moment, for it is your portion. " Who knoweth the things 
which have been before him, or which shall be after him 
under the sun ?" The generations that were from the be- 
ginning of the world, where are they now ? Fled away, 
forgotten. They were ; they lived their day ; they were 
shook off the earth as leaves off their trees ; they moul- 
dered away into common dust ! Another and another race 
succeeded; then the}' "followed the generation of their 
fathers, and shall never more see the light." Now is thy 
turn upon the earth. " Rejoice, O young man, in the days 
of thy youth!" Enjoy the very, very now, by enjoying 
Him " whose years fail not." Now let thine eye be singly 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 277 

fixed on Him " with whom is no variableness, neither sha- 
dow of turning !" Now give him thy heart ; now stay thy- 
self on him ; now be thou holy, as he is holy ! Now lay 
hold on the blessed opportunity of doing his acceptable 
and perfect will ! Now " rejoice to suffer the loss of all 
things, so thou mayest win Christ!" 

Gladly suffer to-day, for his name's sake, whatsoever 
he permits this day to come upon thee. But look not at 
the sufferings of to-morrow. " Sufficient unto the day is 
the evil thereof." Evil it is, speaking after the manner 
of men, whether it be reproach or want, pain or sickness ; 
but in the language of God all is blessing : it is a precious 
balm, prepared by the wisdom of God, and variously dis- 
pensed among his children, according to the various sick- 
nesses of their souls. And he gives in one day sufficient 
for that day, proportioned to the want and strength of the 
patient. If, therefore, thou snatchest to-day what belongs 
to thee to-morrow ; if thou addest this to what is given 
thee already, it will be more than thou canst bear: this is 
the way not to heal, but to destroy thy own soul. Take, 
therefore, just as much as he gives thee to-day ; to-day 
do and suffer his will ! to-day give up thyself, thy body, 
soul, and spirit to God, through Christ Jesus ; desiring 
nothing but that God may be glorified in all thou art, all 
thou doest, all thou sufferest ; seeking nothing but to know 
God, and his Son Jesus Christ, through the eternal Spi- 
rit ; pursuing nothing but to love him, to serve him, and to 
enjoy him at this hour, and to all eternity! — Sermons, 
vol. i, pp. 275-278. 

SECTION XIII. 

Evil Speaking to be guarded against. 

" Speak evil of no man," says the great apostle : as 
plain a command as, " Thou shalt do no murder." But 



278 WESLEYANA— -OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 

who, even among Christians, regards this command ? Yea ? 
how few are there that so much as understand it ? What 
is evil speaking ? It is not, as some suppose, the same 
with lying or slandering. All a man says may be as true 
as the Bible ; and yet the saying of it is evil speaking. 
For evil speaking is neither more nor less than speaking 
evil of an absent person ; relating something evil which 
was really done or said by one that is not present when 
it is related. Suppose, having seen a man drunk, or heard 
him curse or swear, I tell this when he is absent ; it is 
evil speaking. In our language this is also by an ex- 
tremely proper name termed backbiting. Nor is there 
any material difference between this and what we usually 
style tale-bearing. If the tale be delivered in a soft and 
quiet manner, (perhaps with expressions of good will to 
the person, and of hope that things may not be quite so 
bad,) then we call it whispering. But in whatever man- 
ner it be done, the thing is the same ; the same in sub- 
stance, if not in circumstance. Still it is evil speaking ; 
still this command, " Speak evil of no man," is trampled 
under foot; if we relate to another the fault of a third per- 
son when he is not present to answer for himself. 

And how extremely common is this sin among all or- 
ders and degrees of men! How do high and low, rich and 
poor, wise and foolish, learned and unlearned, run into it 
continually ! Persons who differ from each other in all 
things else nevertheless agree in this. How few are there 
that can testify before God, " I am clear in this matter; I 
have always set a w r atch before my mouth, and kept the 
door of my lips ?" What conversation do you hear of any 
considerable length, whereof evil speaking is not one 
ingredient ? And that even among persons who, in the 
general, have the fear of God before their eyes, and do 
really desire to have a conscience void of offence toward 
God and toward man. 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DITTIES. 279 

And the very commonness of this sin makes it difficult 
to be avoided. As we are encompassed with it on every 
side, so, if we are not deeply sensible of the danger, and 
continually guarding against it, we are liable to be carried 
away by the torrent. In this instance, almost the whole 
of mankind is, as it were, in a conspiracy against us. And 
their example steals upon us, we know not how ; so that 
we insensibly slide into the imitation of it. Besides, it is 
recommended from within, as well as from without. There 
is scarce any wrong temper in the mind of man which 
may not be occasionally gratified by it, and consequently 
incline us to it. It gratifies our pride to relate those faults 
of others whereof we think ourselves not to be guilty. 
Anger, resentment, and all unkind tempers are indulged 
by speaking against those with whom we are displeased ; 
and in many cases, by reciting the sins of their neigh- 
bours, men indulge their own foolish and hurtful desires. 

Evil speaking is the more difficult to be avoided, be- 
cause it frequently attacks us in disguise. We speak thus 
out of a noble, generous, (it is well if we do not say,) holy 
indignation against these vile creatures ! We commit sin 
from mere hatred of sin ! we serve the devil out of pure 
zeal for God ! It is merely in order to punish the wicked 
that we run into this wickedness. " So do the passions" 
(as one speaks) " all justify themselves," and palm sin 
upon us under the veil of holiness ! 

But is there no way to avoid the snare 1 Unquestion- 
ably there is. Our blessed Lord has marked out a plain 
way for his followers, in the words above recited. None 
who warily and steadily walk in his path will ever fall 
into evil speaking. This rule is either an infallible pre- 
ventive, or a certain cure of it. In the preceding verses 
our Lord had said, " Wo to the world because of offences :" 
unspeakable misery will arise in the world from this bale- 
ful fountain. (Offences are all things whereby any one is 



280 



WESLETAN'A— OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 



turned out of, or hindered in, the ways of God.) " For it 
must be that offences come : 55 such is the nature of things ; 
such the wickedness, folly, and weakness of mankind ; 
u But wo to that man," miserable is that man, " by whom 
the offence cometh." " Wherefore if thy hand, thy foot, 
thine eye, cause thee to offend if the most dear enjoy- 
ment, the most beloved and useful person, turn thee out 
of, or hinder thee in, the way, fi pluck it out," cut them off, 
and cast them from thee. But how can we avoid giving 
offence to some, and being offended at others? Especially, 
suppose they are quite in the wrong, and we see it with 
our own eyes ? Our Lord here teaches us how : he lays 
down a sure method of avoiding offences and evil speak- 
ing together. "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, 
go and tell him of his fault between thee and him alone ; 
if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But 
if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two 
more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every 
word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear 
them, tell it unto the church ; but if he neglect to hear the 
church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a pub- 
lican." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 433-435. 

SECTION XIV. 
Right Use of Money. 

In order to see the ground and reason of this, consi- 
der, when the Possessor of heaven and earth brought you 
into being, and placed you in this world, he placed you 
here not as a proprietor, but a steward. As such he 
intrusted you for a season with goods of various kinds ; 
but the sole property of these rests in him, nor can ever 
be alienated from him. As you yourself are not your own, 
but his, such is, likewise, all that you enjoy. Such is your 
soul and your body, not your own, but God's. And so is 



WESLEYANA — OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 281 

your substance in particular. And he has told you in the 
most clear and express terms how you are to employ it 
for him, in such a manner that it may be all a holy sacri- 
fice, acceptable through Christ Jesus. And this light, easy 
service he hath promised to reward with an eternal weight 
of glory. 

The directions which God has given us touching the 
use of our worldly substance may be comprised in the fol- 
lowing particulars. If you desire to be a faithful and a 
wise steward, out of that portion of your Lord's goods 
which he has for the present lodged in your hands, but 
with the right of resuming whenever it pleases him, first, 
provide things needful for yourself : food to eat, raiment 
to put on, whatever nature moderately requires for pre- 
serving the body in health and strength. Secondly, pro- 
vide these for your wife, your children, your servants, or 
any others who pertain to your household. If, when this 
is done, there be an overplus left, then " do good to them 
that are of the household of faith." If there be an over- 
plus still, " as you have opportunity, do good unto all men." 
In so doing, you give all you can ; nay, in a sound sense, 
all you have ; for all that is laid out in this manner is 
really given to God. You " render unto God the things 
that are God's," not only by what you give to the poor, 
but also by that which you expend in providing things 
needful for yourself and your household. 

If, then, a doubt should at any time arise in your mind 
concerning what you are going to expend, either on your- 
self or any part of your family, you have an easy way to 
remove it. Calmly and seriously inquire, 1. In expend- 
ing this, am I acting according to my character ? Am I 
acting herein, not as a proprietor, but as a steward of my 
Lord's goods ? 2. Am I doing this in obedience to his 
word ? In what scripture does he require me so to do ? 
3. Can I offer up this action, this expense, as a sacrifice 



282 



WES LET AX A OF CHRISTIAN DUTIES, 



to God, through Jesus Christ ? 4. Have I reason to be 
lieve that for this very work I shall have a reward at the 
resurrection of the just ? You will seldom need any thing 
more to remove any doubt which arises on this head; but 
by this fourfold consideration you will receive clear light 
as to the way wherein you should go. 

If any doubt still remain, you may farther examine your- 
self by prayer, according to those heads of inquiry. Try 
whether you can say to the Searcher of hearts, your con- 
science not condemning you, " Lord, thou seest I am go- 
ing to expend this sum on that food, apparel, furniture. 
And thou knowest I act therein with a single eye, as a 
steward of thy goods, expending this portion of them thus, 
in pursuance of the design thou hadst in intrusting me 
with them. Thou knowest I do this in obedience to thy 
word, as thou commandest, and because thou commandest 
it. Let this, I beseech thee, be a holy sacrifice, accepta- 
ble through Jesus Christ ! And give me a witness in my- 
self, that for this labour of love I shall have a recompense 
when thou rewardest every man according to his works." 
Now if your conscience bear you witness in the Holy 
Ghost that this prayer is well pleasing to God, then have 
you no reason to doubt but that expense is right and good, 
and such as will never make you ashamed. — Sermons^ 
vol. i, pp. 446, 447. 



WESLEYANA — OF MEANS OF GRACE. 



283 



CHAPTER XVI. 
MEANS OF GRACE. 

SECTION I. 
Appointed by God. 

God hath in Scripture ordained prayer, reading or hear- 
ing, and the receiving the Lord's supper, as the ordinary 
means of conveying his grace to man. And, first, prayer : 
For thus saith the Lord, Ask, and it shall be given you. 
If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God. Here God 
plainly ordains prayer as the means of receiving whatso- 
ever grace we want, particularly that wisdom from above 
which is the chief fruit of the grace of God. 

Here likewise God commands all to pray who desire to 
receive any grace from him. Here is no restriction as to 
believers or unbelievers, but least of all as to unbelievers ; 
for such doubtless were most of those to whom he said, 
" Ask, and it shall be given you." 

We know, indeed, that the prayer of an unbeliever is 
full of sin. Yet let him remember that which is written 
of one who could not then believe, for he had not so much 
as heard the gospel : Cornelius, thy prayers and thine alms 
are come up for a memorial before God. 

To search, that is, read and hear the Holy Scriptures, 
is a command of God. This command is given to all, 
believers or unbelievers. It is commanded or ordained 
as a means of grace, a means of conveying the grace of 
God to all, whether unbelievers, such as those to whom 
he first gave this command, and those to whom faith 
cometh by hearing, or believers, who by experience know 
that all Scripture is profitable, or a means to this end, that 



284 WESLEYANA— OF MEAN'S OF GRACE. 

the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all 
good works. 

In later times many have affirmed that the Lord's sup- 
per is not a converting, but a confirming ordinance. 

And among us it has been diligently taught that none 
but those who are converted, who have received the Holy 
Ghost, who are believers in the full sense, ought to com- 
municate. 

The falsehood of this other assertion appears both from 
Scripture precept and example. Our Lord commanded 
those very men who were then unconverted, who had not 
yet received the Holy Ghost, who, in the full sense of the 
word, were not believers, to do this in remembrance of him. 
Here the precept is clear. And to these he delivered the 
elements with his own hands. Here is example equally 
indisputable. 

The Lord's supper was ordained by God to be a mean 
of conveying to men either preventing, or justifying, or 
sanctifying grace, according to their several necessities. 
The persons for whom it was ordained are all those who 
know and feel that they want the grace of God, either to 
restrain them from sin, or to show their sins forgiven, or 
to renew their souls in the image of God. Inasmuch as we 
come to his table, not to give him any thing, but to receive 
whatsoever he sees best for us, there is no previous pre- 
paration indispensably necessary, but a desire to receive 
whatsoever he pleases to give. No fitness is required at 
the time of communicating, but a sense of our state, of our 
utter sinfulness and helplessness : every one who knows 
he is fit for hell being just fit to come to Christ in this as 
well as all other ways of his appointment. — Works, vol. 
iii, pp. 188, 189. 



WESLEYANA— «0F MEANS OF GRACE. 285 

SECTION It 

How to he used. 

Before you use any means, let it be deeply impressed 
on your soul, There is no power in this* It is in itself a 
poor, dead, empty thing : separate from God, it is a dry 
leaf, a shadow. Neither is there any merit in my using 
this ; nothing intrinsically pleasing to God ; nothing where- 
by I deserve any favour at his hands, no, not a drop of 
water to cool my tongne. But because God bids, there- 
fore I do ; because he directs me to wait in this way 7 
therefore here I wait for his free mercy, whereof cometh 
my salvation. 

Settle this in your heart, that the opus operatum, the 
mere work done, profiteth nothing ; that there is no power 
to save, but in the Spirit of God — no merit, but in the 
blood of Christ ; that consequently even what God ordains 
conveys no grace to the soul, if you trust not in him alone. 
On the other hand, he that does truly trust in him cannot 
fall short of the grace of God, even though he were cut 
off from every outward ordinance, though he were shut 
up in the centre of the earth. 

In using all means, seek God alone. In and through 
every outward thing look singly to the power of his Spirit 
and the merits of his Son. Beware you do not stick in 
the work itself ; if you do, it is all lost labour. Nothing 
short of God can satisfy your soul. Therefore eye him 
in all, through all, and above all. 

Remember also to use all means as means; as ordained, 
not for their own sake, but in order to the renewal of your 
soul in righteousness and true holiness. If, therefore, they 
actually tend to this, well ; but if not, they are dung and 
dross. 

After you have used any of these, take care how you 
value yourself thereon : how you congratulate yourself as 



S£(3 WESLEYANA OF MEANS OF GRACE. 

having done some great thing. This is turning all into 
poison. Think, " If God was not there, what does this 
avail? Have I not been adding sin to sin? How long? O 
Lord, save, or I perish! O lay not this sin to my charge!" 
If God was there, if his love flowed into your heart, you 
have forgot, as it were, the outward work. You see, you 
know, you feel, God is all in all ! Be abased ! Sink down 
before him ! Give him all the praise. " Let God in all 
tilings be glorified through Christ Jesus." Let all your 
bones cry out, " My song shall be always of the loving 
kindness of the Lord : with my mouth will I ever be tell- 
ing of thy truth, from one generation to another !" — Ser- 
zno7is } vol. i, p. 146. 

SECTION III. 
Of Temptations, 

For what ends, then, does God permit heaviness to be- 
fall so many of his children ? The apostle gives us a plain 
and direct answer to this important question : " That the 
trial of their faith, which is much more precious than gold 
that perisheth, though it be tried by fire, may be found 
unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the revelation of 
Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. i, 7. There may be an allusion to 
this in that well-known passage of the fourth chapter, 
(although it primarily relates to quite another thing, as 
has been already observed :) " Think it not strange con- 
cerning the fiery trial which is to try you, but rejoice that 
ye are partakers of the sufferings of Christ ; that, when 
his glory shall be revealed, ye may likewise rejoice with 
exceeding great joy," ver. 12, &c. 

Hence we learn that the first and great end of God's 
permitting the temptations which bring heaviness on his 
children is the trial of their faith, which is tried by these 
even as gold by the fire. Now we know gold tried in the 



WESLEYANA — OF MEANS OF GRACE. 2§7 

fire is purified thereby, is separated from its dross. And 
so is faith in the fire of temptation : the more it is tried, 
the more it is purified ; yea, and not only purified, but also 
strengthened, confirmed, increased abundantly, by so many 
more proofs of the wisdom and power, the love and faith- 
fulness of God. This, then, to increase our faith, is one 
gracious end of God's permitting those manifold tempta- 
tions. 

They serve to try, to purify, to confirm, and increase 
that living hope also whereunto " the God and Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ hath begotten us again of his abun- 
dant mercy." Indeed, our hope cannot but increase in the 
same proportion with our faith. On this foundation it 
stands : believing in his name, living by faith in the Son 
of God, we hope for, we have a confident expectation of, 
the glory which shall be revealed ; and, consequently, 
whatever strengthens our faith increases our hope also. 
At the same time it increases our joy in the Lord, which 
cannot but attend a hope full of immortality. In this view 
the apostle exhorts believers in the other chapter : "Re- 
joice that ye are partakers of the sufferings of Christ." 
On this very account " happy are you ; for the Spirit of 
glory and of God resteth upon you :" and hereby ye are 
enabled, even in the midst of sufferings, to " rejoice with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory." 

They rejoice the more, because the trials which 
increase their faith and hope increase their love also, both 
their gratitude to God for all his mercies, and their good 
will to all mankind. Accordingly, the more deeply sensi- 
ble they are of the loving kindness of God their Saviour, 
the more is their heart inflamed with love to Him who 
"first loved us." The clearer and stronger evidence they 
have of the glory that shall be revealed, the more do they 
love Him who hath purchased it for them, and " given 
them the earnest [thereof] in their hearts." And this, the 



288 WESLEYANA OF MEANS OF G&AC1Z. 

increase of their love* is another end of the temptations 
permitted to come upon them, 

Yet another is, their advance in holiness, holiness of 
heart and holiness of conversation : the latter naturally 
resulting from the former, for a good tree will bring forth 
good fruit. And all inward holiness is the immediate fruit 
of the faith that worketh by love. By this the blessed 
Spirit purifies the heart from pride, self-will, passion ; 
from love of the world, from foolish and hurtful desires, 
from vile and vain affections. Besides that, sanctified 
afflictions have, through the grace of God, an immediate 
and direct tendency to holiness. Through the operation 
of his Spirit, they humble more and more, and abase the 
soul before God. They calm and meeken our turbulent 
spirit, tame the fierceness of our nature, soften our obsti- 
nacy and self-will, crucify us to the world, and bring us 
to expect all our strength from, and to seek all our happi- 
ness in God. 

And all these terminate in that great end, that our faith, 
hope, love, and holiness "may be found [if it doth not yet 
appear] unto praise, [from God himself,] and honour, 
[from men and angels,] and glory," assigned by the great 
Judge to all that have endured unto the end. And this 
will be assigned in that awful day to every man " accord- 
ing to his works according to the work which God had 
wrought in his heart, and the outward works which he 
has wrought for God ; and likewise according to what he 
had suffered : so that all these trials are unspeakable gain. 
So many ways do these " light afflictions, which are but 
for a moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory !" 

Add to this the advantage which others may receive by 
seeing our behaviour under affliction. We find, by expe- 
rience, example frequently makes a deeper impression 
upon us than precept. And what examples have a stronger 



WESLEYANA — OF A FUTURE STATE. 



289 



influence, not only on those who are partakers of like pre- 
cious faith, but even on them who have not known God, 
than that of a soul calm and serene in the midst of storms ; 
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing ; meekly accepting what- 
ever is the will of God, however grievous it may be to na- 
ture ; saying, in sickness and pain, " The cup which my 
Father hath given me, shall I not drink it ?" in loss or 
want, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; 
blessed be the name of the Lord !" — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 
423, 424. See also chap. xv. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

OF A FUTURE STATE, 

SECTION I. 

The last Judgment. 

But we shall all, I that speak, and you that hear, 
" stand at the judgment seat of Christ." And we are now 
reserved on this earth, which is not our home, in this pri- 
son of flesh and blood, perhaps many of us in chains of 
darkness too, till we are ordered to be brought forth. Here 
a man is questioned concerning one or two acts which he 
is supposed to have committed ; there we are to give an 
account of all our works, from the cradle to the grave ; of 
all our words ; of all our desires and tempers, all the 
thoughts and intents of our hearts ; of all the use we have 
made of our various talents, whether of mind, body, or for- 
tune, till God said, " Give an account of thy stewardship, 
for thou mayest be no longer steward." In this court it is 
possible some who are guilty may escape for want of evi- 
dence , but there is no want of evidence in that court. All 

13 



290 WESLEYANA — OF A FUTURE STATE. 



men with whom you had the most secret intercourse, who 
were privy to all your designs and actions, are ready be- 
fore your face. So are all the spirits of darkness, who 
inspired evil designs, and assisted in the execution of them. 
So are all the angels of God, those eyes of the Lord, that 
run to and fro over all the earth, who watched over your 
soul, and laboured for your good, so far as you would per- 
mit. So is your own conscience, a thousand witnesses in 
one, now no more capable of being either blinded or 
silenced, but constrained to know and to speak the naked 
truth, touching all your thoughts, and words, and actions. 
And is conscience as a thousand witnesses ? Yea, but God 
is as a thousand consciences! O who can stand before the 
face of the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ ! 

See! see! He cometh! He maketh the clouds his cha- 
riot ! He rideth upon the wings of the wind ! A devouring 
fire goeth before him, and after him a flame burnetii! See ! 
He sitteth upon his throne, clothed with light as with a 
garment, arrayed with majesty and honour ! Behold, his 
eyes are as a flame of fire, his voice as the sound of many 
waters ! 

How will ye escape 1 Will ye call to the mountains to 
fall on you, the rocks to cover you ? Alas ! the mountains 
themselves, the rocks, the earth, the heavens, are just 
ready to flee away ! Can ye prevent the sentence ? Where- 
with? With all the substance of thy house, with thousands 
of gold and silver ? Blind wretch ! Thou earnest naked 
from thy mother's womb, and more naked into eternity. 
Hear the Lord, the Judge !. " Come/ye blessed of my Fa- 
ther ! inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the found- 
ation of the world." Joyful sound ! how widely different 
from that voice which echoes through the expanse of hea- 
ven, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for 
the devil and his angels!" And who is he that can prevent 
or retard the full execution of either sentence ? Vain hope ! 



WESLE if ANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 291 

Lo, hell is moved from beneath to receive those who are 
ripe for destruction ! And the everlasting doors lift up their 
heads that the heirs of glory may come in ! — Sermons, 
vol. i, pp. 134, 135. 

The Judge of "all will then inquire, " How didst thou 
employ thy soul ? I intrusted thee with an immortal spirit, 
endowed with various powers and faculties, with under- 
standing, imagination, memory, will, affections. I gave 
thee withal full and express directions how all these were 
to be employed. Didst thou employ thy understanding, 
as far as it was capable, according to those directions, 
namely, in the knowledge of thyself and me ? my nature, 
my attributes ? my works : whether of creation, of provi- 
dence, or of grace? in acquainting thyself with my word? 
in using every means to increase thy knowledge thereof? 
in meditating thereon day and night ? Didst thou employ 
thy memory, according to my will, in treasuring up what- 
ever knowledge thou hadst acquired which might conduce 
to my glory, to thy own salvation, or the advantage of 
others ? Didst thou store up therein, not things of no va- 
lue, but whatever instruction thou hadst learned from my 
word; and whatever experience thou hadst gained of my 
wisdom, truth, power, and mercy ? Was thy imagination 
employed, not in painting vain images, much less such as 
nourished foolish and hurtful desires;' but in represent- 
ing to thee whatever would profit thy soul, and awaken 
thy pursuit of wisdom and holiness? Didst thou follow my 
directions with regard to thy will? Was it wholly given 
up to me ? Was it swallowed up in mine, so as never to 
oppose, but always run parallel with it? Were thy affec- 
tions placed and regulated in such a manner as I appointed 
in my word ? Didst thou give me thy heart ? Didst thou 
not love the world, neither the things of the world ? Was 
1 the object of thy love ? Was all thy desire unto me, and 
unto the remembrance of my name ? Was I the joy of thy 



292 WESLEYANA— OF A FUTURE STATE. 

heart, the delight of thy soul, the chief among ten thou- 
sand? Didst thou sorrow for nothing but what grieved my 
Spirit ? Didst thou fear and hate nothing but sin ? Did the 
whole stream of thy affections flow back to the ocean 
from whence they came ? Were thy thoughts employed 
according to my will ? Not in ranging to the ends of the 
earth ; not on folly or sin ; but on ' whatsoever things were 
pure, whatsoever things were holy :' on whatsoever was 
conducive to my glory, and to 'peace and good will among 
men V » 

Thy Lord will then inquire, " How didst thou employ the 
body wherewith I intrusted thee ? I gave thee a tongue to 
praise me therewith : didst thou use it to the end for which 
it was given? Didst thou employ it, not in evil speaking, or 
idle speaking, not in uncharitable or unprofitable conversa- 
tion, but in such as was good, as was necessary or useful 
either to thyself or others ? such as always tended, directly 
or indirectly, to 'minister grace to the hearers V I gave 
thee, together with thy other senses, those grand avenues 
of knowledge, sight and hearing: were these employed to 
those excellent purposes for which they were bestowed 
upon thee? in bringing thee in more and more instruction 
in righteousness and true holiness? I gave thee hands and 
feet, and various members, wherewith to perform the 
works which were prepared for thee : were they em- 
ployed, not in doing 1 the will of the flesh,' of thy evil 
nature, or the will of the mind, (the things to which thy 
reason or fancy led thee,) but ' the will of Him that sent' 
thee into the world, merely to work out thy own salvation ? 
Didst thou present all thy members, not to sin, as instru- 
ments of unrighteousness, but to me alone, through the 
Son of my love, 1 as instruments of righteousness V " 

The Lord of all will next inquire, " How didst thou 
employ the worldly goods which I lodged in thy hands ? 
Didst thou use thy food, not so as to seek or place thy 



WESLEYANA QF A FUTTRE STATE. 293 



happiness therein, but so as to preserve the body in health* 
in strength, and vigour, a fit instrument for the soul ? Didst 
thou use apparel, not to nourish pride or vanity, much less 
to tempt others to sin, but conveniently and decently to 
defend thyself from the injuries of the weather? Didst thou 
prepare and use thy house, and all other conveniences, 
with a single eye to my glory! in every point seeking not 
thy own honour, but mine ; studying to please not thy- 
self, but me? Once more : in what manner didst thou em- 
ploy that comprehensive talent, money? Not in gratifying 
the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, or the pride 
of life ? Not squandering it away in vain expenses, the 
same as throwing it into the sea ? Not hoarding it up to 
leave behind thee, the same as burying it in the earth 1 
But first supplying thy own reasonable wants, together 
with those of thy family ; then restoring the remainder to 
me, through the poor, whom I had appointed to receive it; 
looking upon thyself as only one of that number of poor 
whose wants were to be supplied out of that part of my 
substance which I had placed in thy hands for this pur- 
pose, leaving thee the right of being supplied first, and the 
blessedness of giving rather than receiving ? Wast thou 
accordingly a general benefactor to mankind ? feeding the 
hungry, clothing the naked, comforting the sick, assisting 
the stranger, relieving the afflicted, according to their va- 
rious necessities ? Wast thou eyes to the blind, and feet 
to the lame ? a father to the fatherless, and a husband to 
the widow ? And didst thou labour to improve all outward 
works of mercy as means of saving souls from death ?" 

Thy Lord will farther inquire, " Hast thou been a wise 
and faithful steward, with regard to the talents of a mixed 
nature which I lent thee ? Didst thou employ thy health 
and strength, not in folly or sin, not in the pleasures which 
perished in the using/ ' not in malting provision for the 
flesh, to fulfil the desires thereof,' but in a vigorous pursuit 



294 WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 

of that better part which none could take away from thee ? 
Didst thou employ whatever was pleasing in thy person 
or address, whatever advantages thou hadst by education, 
whatever share of learning, whatever knowledge of things 
or men, was committed to thee, for the promoting of vir- 
tue in the world, for the enlargement of my kingdom \ 
Didst thou employ whatever share of power thou hadst, 
whatever influence over others, by the love or esteem of 
thee which they had conceived, for the increase of their 
wisdom and holiness ? Didst thou employ that inestimable 
talent of time with wariness and circumspection, as duly 
weighing the value of every moment, and knowing that 
all were numbered in eternity 1 Above all, wast thou a 
good steward of my grace, preventing, accompanying, and 
following thee ? Didst thou duly observe, and carefully 
improve, all the influences of my Spirit ? every good de- 
sire ? every measure of light ? all his sharp or gentle 
reproofs ? How didst thou profit by 1 the spirit of bondage 
and fear,' which was previous to ' the Spirit of adoption V 
And when thou wast made a partaker of this Spirit, cry- 
ing in thy heart, ' Abba, Father,' didst thou stand fast in 
the glorious liberty wherewith I made thee free 1 Didst 
thou from thenceforth present thy soul and body, all thy 
thoughts, thy words, and actions, in one flame of love, as 
a holy sacrifice, glorifying me with thy body and thy spi- 
rit? Then 'well done, good' and faithful servant! enter 
thou into the joy of thy Lord!'" — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 
454-456. 

SECTION n. 
Rewards of the Righteous. 

There is one circumstance which will follow the judg- 
ment that deserves our serious consideration: "We look," 
says the apostle, " according to His promise, for new hea- 
vens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," 



WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 



295 



2 Pet. iii, 13. The promise stands in the prophecy of 
Isaiah, " Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, 
and the former shall not be remembered," Isa. lxv, 17, — 
so great shall the glory of the latter be ! These St. John 
did behold in the visions of God. " I saw," saith he, " a 
new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the 
first earth were passed away," Rev. xxi, 1. And only 
righteousness dwelt therein : accordingly he adds, " And 
I heard a great voice from [the third] heaven, saying, Be- 
hold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
with them, and they shall be his people ; and God him- 
self shall be with them, and be their God," chap, xxi, 3. 
Of necessity, therefore, they will all be happy : " God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall 
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying ; neither 
shall there be any more pain," chap, xxi, 4. " There shall 
be no more curse, but they shall see his face," chap, xxii, 
3, 4 — shall have the nearest access to, and thence the 
highest resemblance of him. This is the strongest ex- 
pression in the language of Scripture to denote the most 
perfect happiness. "And his name shall be on their fore- 
heads ;" they shall be openly acknowledged as God's own 
property, and his glorious nature shall most visibly shine 
forth in them. " And there shall be no night there, and 
they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord 
God giveth them light ; and they .shall reign for ever and 
ever." — Sermons, vol. i, pp. 132, 133. 

But the most glorious of all will be the change which 
then will take place upon the poor, sinful, miserable chil- 
dren of men. These had fallen in many respects as from 
a greater height, so into a lower depth than any other part 
of the creation. But they shall "hear a great voice out 
of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with 
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
people, and God himself shall be their God," Rev. xxi, 3, 4. 



296 WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 

Hence will arise an unmixed state of holiness and happi- 
ness far superior to that which Adam enjoyed in Paradise. 
In how beautiful a manner is this described by the apos- 
tle : " God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and 
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying : 
neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things 
are done away." As there will be no more death, and no 
more pain or sickness preparatory thereto ; as there will 
be no more grieving for, or parting with friends ; so there 
will be no more sorrow or crying. Nay, but there will 
be a greater deliverance than all this ; for there will be 
no more sin. And, to crown all, there will be a deep, an 
intimate, an uninterrupted union with God, a constant 
communion with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, 
through the Spirit; a continual enjoyment of the three-one 
God, and of all the creatures in him ! — Sermons, vol. ii, 
p. 87. 

SECTION III. 
The Resurrection Body. 

The body that we shall have at the resurrection shall 
be immortal and incorruptible, " for this corruptible must 
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortal- 
ity." Now these words, immortal and incorruptible, not 
only signify that we shall die no more ; for in that sense 
the damned are immortal and incorruptible ; but that we 
shall be perfectly free from all the bodily evils which sin 
brought into the world ; that our bodies shall not be sub- 
ject to sickness, or pain, or any other inconveniences we 
are daily exposed to. This the Scripture calls " the re- 
demption of our bodies ;" the freeing them from all their 
maladies. Were we to receive them again, subject to all 
the frailties and miseries which we are forced to wrestle 
with, I much doubt whether a wise man, were he left to 
his choice, would willingly take his again : — whether he 



WESLEY ANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 297 

would not choose to let his still lie rotting in the grave, 
rather than to be again chained to such a cumbersome 
clod of earth. Such a resurrection would be, as a wise 
heathen calls it, " A resurrection to another sleep." It 
would look more like a redemption to death again than a 
resurrection to life. 

The best thing we can say of this house of earth is, 
that it is a ruinous building, and will not be long before it 
tumbles into dust ; that it is not our home : we look for 
another house, eternal in the heavens ; that we shall not 
always be confined here, but that in a little time we shall 
be delivered from the bondage of corruption, from this 
burden of flesh, into the glorious liberty of the sons of 
God. What frail things these bodies of ours are ! How 
soon are they disordered ! To what a troop of diseases, 
pains, and other infirmities are they constantly subject ! 
And how does the least distemper disturb our minds, and 
make life itself a burden ! Of how many parts do our bo- 
dies consist! And if one of these be disordered, the whole 
man suffers. If but one of these slender threads, whereof 
our flesh is made up, be stretched beyond its due propor- 
tion, or fretted by any sharp humour, or broken, what tor- 
ment does it create ! Nay, when our bodies are at the best, 
what pains do we take to answer their necessities, to 
provide for their sustenance, to preserve them in health, 
and to keep them tenantable, in some tolerable fitness for 
our souls' use ! And what time we can spare from our 
labour is taken up in rest, and refreshing our jaded bodies, 
and fitting them for work again. How are we forced, even 
naturally, into the confines of death ; even to cease to be ; 
at least to pass so many hours without any useful or rea- 
sonable thoughts, merely to keep them in repair ! But our 
hope and comfort are, that we shall shortly be delivered 
from this burden of flesh. When " God shall wipe away 
all tears from our eyes, and there shall be no more death, 

13* 



WES LEY AX A — OF A FUTURE STATE. 



neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be'any more 
pain ; for the former things are passed away." 0. when 
shall we arrive at that happy land where no complaints 
were ever heard, where we shall all enjoy uninterrupted 
health both of body and mind, and never more be exposed 
to any of those inconveniences that disturb our present 
pilgrimage! When we shall have once passed from death 
unto life, we shall be eased of all the troublesome care of 
our bodies, which now takes up so much of our time and 
thoughts. We shall be set free from all those mean and 
tiresome labours which we must now undergo to support 
our lives. Yon robes of light with which we shall be 
clothed at the resurrection of the just will not stand in 
need of those careful provisions which it is so troublesome 
to us here either to procure, or to be without. But then, 
as our Lord tells us, "'Those who shall be accounted wor- 
thy to obtain that world neither marry nor are given in 
marriage, neither can they die any more ; but they are 
equal to the angels." Their bodies ar-e neither subject to 
disease, nor want that daily sustenance which these mor- 
tal bodies cannot be without. ' ; Meats for the belly, and 
the belly for meats ; but God will destroy both it and 
them." This is that perfect happiness which all good 
men shall enjoy in the other world — a mind free from all 
trouble and guilt, in a body free from all pains and dis- 
eases. Thus our mortal bodies shall be raised immortal. 
They shall not only be always preserved from death, (for 
so these might be, if God pleased.) but the nature of them 
shall be wholly changed, so that they shall not retain the 
same seeds of mortality. They cannot die any more. 

Our bodies shall be raised in glory. " Then shall the 
righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." 
A resemblance of this we have in the lustre of Moses's 
face when he had conversed with God on the mount. His 
face shone so bright that the children of Israel were afraid 



WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 299 

to come near him till he threw a veil over it. And that 
•extraordinary majesty of Stephen's face seemed to be an 
earnest of his glory. " All that sat in the council, looking 
steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face 
of an angel." How, then, if it shone so gloriously even 
on earth, will it shine in the other world, when his, and 
the bodies of all the saints, are made like unto Christ's 
glorious body ! How glorious the body of Christ is we may 
guess from his transfiguration. St. Peter, when he saw 
this, when our Lord's face shone as the sun, and his rai- 
ment became shining and white as snow, was so trans- 
ported with joy and admiration that he knew not what he 
said. When our Saviour discovered but a little of that 
glory which he now possesses, and which in due time he 
will impart to his followers, yet that little of it made the 
place seem a paradise; and the disciples thought that they 
could wish for nothing better than always to live in such 
pure light, and enjoy so beautiful a sight. " It is good for 
us to be here : let us make three tabernacles." Here let 
us fix our abode for ever. And if they thought it so happy 
only to be present with such heavenly bodies, and to be- 
hold them with their eyes, how much happier must it be 
to dwell in such glorious mansions, and to be themselves 
clothed with so much brightness ! 

This excellence of our heavenly bodies will probably 
arise in great measure from the happiness of our souls. 
The unspeakable joy that we then shall feel will break 
through our bodies, and shine forth in our countenances. 
As the joy of the soul, even in this life, has some influence 
upon the countenance by rendering it more open and 
cheerful, so Solomon tells us, " A man's wisdom makes 
his face to shine." Virtue, as it refines a man's heart, so 
it makes his very looks more cheerful and lively. 

Our bodies shall be raised in power. This expresses 
the sprightliness of our heavenly bodies, the nimbleness 



300 WES LEY AN A— OF A FUTURE STATE. 



of their motion, by which they shall be obedient and able 
instruments of the soul. In this state our bodies are no 
better than clogs and fetters, which confine and restrain 
the freedom of the soul. The corruptible body presses 
down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weighs down 
the mind. Our dull, sluggish, inactive bodies are often 
unable or backward to obey the commands of the soul. 
But in the other life " they that wait upon the Lord shall 
renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as 
eagles ; they shall run and not be weary ; they shall walk 
and not faint." Or, as another expresses it, " they shall 
run to and fro like sparks among the stubble." The speed 
of their motion shall be like that of devouring fire in stub- 
ble, and the height of it above the towering of an eagle ; 
for they shall meet the Lord in the air, when he comes to 
judgment, and mount up with him into the highest heaven. 
This earthly body is slow and heavy in all its motions, 
listless and soon tired with action. But our heavenly bo- 
dies shall be as fire ; as active and as nimble as our 
thoughts are. 

Our bodies shall be raised spiritual bodies. Our spirits 
are now forced to serve our bodies, and to attend their 
leisure, and do greatly depend upon them for most of their 
actions. But our bodies shall then wholly serve our spi- 
rits, and minister to them, and depend upon them. So 
that, as by a natural body we understand one fitted for 
this lower, sensible world, for this earthly state ; so a spi- 
ritual body is one that is suited to a spiritual state, to an 
invisible world, to the life of angels. And, indeed, this is 
the principal difference between a mortal and a glorified 
body. This flesh is the most dangerous enemy we have : 
we therefore deny and renounce it in our baptism. It 
constantly tempts us to evil. Every sense is a snare to 
us. All its lusts and appetites are inordinate. It is un- 
governable, and often rebels against reason. The law in 



WESLEYANA—OF A FUTURE STATE. 301 

our members wars against the law of our mind. When 
the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak ; so that the best of 
men are forced to keep it under, and use it hardly, lest it 
should betray them into folly and misery. And how does 
it hinder us in all our devotions ! How soon does it jade 
our minds when employed on holy things ! How easily, 
by its enchanting pleasures, does it divert them from those 
noble exercises ! But when we have obtained the resur- 
rection unto life, our bodies will be spiritualized, purified, 
and refined from their earthly grossness ; then they will 
be fit instruments for the soul in all its divine and heavenly 
employment : we shall not be weary of singing praises to 
God through infinite ages. 

Thus, after what little we have been able to conceive 
of it, it sufficiently appears that a glorified body is infinitely 
more excellent and desirable than this vile body. — Ser- 
mons, vol. ii, pp. 510-513. 

SECTION IV. 

Punishment of Sinners. 

Consider the poena damni, the punishment of loss. This 
commences in that very moment wherein the soul is sepa- 
rated from the body ; in that instant the soul loses all those 
pleasures the enjoyment of which depends on the outward 
senses. The smell, the taste, the touch, delight no more: 
the organs that ministered to them are spoiled, and the 
objects that used to gratify them are removed far away. 
In the dreary regions of the dead all these things are for- 
gotten ; or, if remembered, are only remembered with pain, 
seeing they are gone for ever. All the pleasures of the 
imagination are at an end. There is no grandeur in the 
infernal regions ; there is nothing beautiful in those dark 
abodes ; no light but that of livid flames ; and nothing new, 
but one unvaried scene of horror upon horror ! There is 
no music but that of groans and shrieks : of weeping, wail- 



302 



WESLEY AN A- — I 



■OF A FUTURE STATE. 



ing. and gnashing of teeth : of curses and blasphemies 
against God, or cutting reproaches of one another. Nor 
is there any thing to gratify the sense of honour. No, 
they are the heirs of shame and everlasting contempt. 

Thus are they totally separated from all the things they 
were fond of in the present world. At the same instant 
will commence another ioss, that of all the persons whom 
they loved. They are torn away from their nearest and 
dearest relations: their wives, husbands, parents, children, 
and (what to some will be worse than all this) the friend 
which was as their own soul. All the pleasure they ever 
enjoyed in these is lost, gone, vanished away ; for there 
is no friendship in hell. Even the poet who affirms, 
(though I know not on what authority,) 

" Devil with devil damn'd 
Firm concord holds," 

does not affirm that there is any concord among the human 
fiends that inhabit the great abyss. 

But they will then be sensible of a greater loss than all 
they have enjoyed on earth. They have lost their place 
in Abraham's bosom, in the paradise of God. Hitherto, 
indeed, it hath not entered into their hearts to conceive 
what holy souls enjoy in the garden of God, in the society 
of angels, and of the wisest and best men that have lived 
from the beginning of the world, (not to mention the im- 
mense increase of knowledge which they will then un- 
doubtedly receive ;) but they will then fully understand 
the value of what they have vilely cast away. 

But as happy as the souls in paradise are, they are pre- 
paring for far greater happiness ; for paradise is only the 
porch of heaven, and it is there the spirits of just men are 
made perfect. It is in heaven only that there is the ful- 
ness of joy, the pleasures that are at God's right hand for 
evermore. The loss of this by those unhappy spirits will 
be the completion of their misery. They will then know 



WESLEYANA — OF A FUTURE STATE. 303 



and feel that God alone is the centre of all created spirits, 
and consequently that a spirit made for God can have no 
rest out of him. It seems that the apostle had this in his 
view when he spoke of those u who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord." 
Banishment from the presence of the Lord is the very 
essence of destruction to a spirit that was made for God. 
And if that banishment last for ever, it is " everlasting 
destruction." 

Such is the loss sustained by those miserable creatures 
on whom that awful sentence will be pronounced : " De- 
part from me, ye cursed!" What an unspeakable curse, if 
there were no other! But, alas! this is far from being the 
whole ; for to the punishment of loss will be added the 
punishment of sense. What they lose implies unspeak- 
able misery, which yet is inferior to what they feel. This 
it is which our Lord expresses in those emphatical words : 
" Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quench- 
ed !" — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 148, 149. 

Consider the company wherewith every one is sur- 
rounded in that place of torment. It is not uncommon to 
hear even condemned criminals in our public prisons say, 
"01 wish I was hanged out of the way, rather than to be 
plagued with these wretches that are round about me !" 
But what are the most abandoned wretches upon earth 
compared to the inhabitants of hell ? None of these are, 
as yet, perfectly wicked, emptied of every spark of good ; 
certainly not till this life is at an end ; probably not till the 
day of judgment. Nor can any of these exert, without 
control, their whole wickedness on their fellow-creatures. 
Sometimes they are restrained by good men ; sometimes 
even by bad. So even the tortures in the Romish inquisi- 
tion are restrained by those that employ them when they 
suppose the sufferer cannot endure anymore. They then 
order the executioners to forbear, because it is contrary to 



304 



WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 



the rules of the house that a man should die upon the rack. 
And very frequently, when there is no human help, they 
are restrained by God, who hath set them their bounds, 
which they cannot pass, and saith, " Hitherto shall ye 
come, and no farther." Yea, so mercifully hath God or- 
dained, that the very extremity of pain causes a suspen- 
sion of it. The sufferer faints away ; and so, for a time 
at least, sinks into insensibility. But the inhabitants of 
hell are perfectly wicked, having no spark of goodness 
remaining. And they are restrained by none from exert- 
ing to the uttermost their total wickedness : not by men ; 
none will be restrained from evil by his companions in 
damnation : and not by God, for he hath begotten them, 
hath delivered them over to the tormentors. And the de- 
vils need not fear, like their instruments upon earth, lest 
they should expire under the torture. They can die no 
more ; they are strong to sustain whatever the united ma- 
lice, skill, and strength of angels can inflict upon them. 
And their angelic tormentors have time sufficient to vary 
their torments a thousand ways. How infinitely may they 
vary one single torment — horrible appearances ! whereby 
there is no doubt an evil spirit, if permitted, could terrify 
the stoutest man upon earth to death. 

Consider, farther, that all these torments of body and 
soul are without intermission. They have no respite from 
pain ; but " the smoke of their torment ascendeth up day 
and night," Day and night ! that is, speaking according 
to the constitution of the present world; wherein God has 
wisely and graciously ordained that day and night should 
succeed each other, so that in every four and twenty hours 
there comes a 

" Daily sabbath, made to rest 
Toiling man and weary beast." 

Hence we seldom undergo much labour, or suffer much 
pain, before 



WESLEYANA — OF A FUTURE STATE. 305 



w Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," 

steals upon us by insensible degrees, and brings an inter- 
val of ease. But although the damned have uninterrupted 
night, it brings no interruption of their pain. No sleep 
accompanies that darkness : whatever ancient or modern 
poets, either Homer or Milton, dream, there is no sleep 
either in hell or heaven. And be their suffering ever so 
extreme, be their pain ever so intense, there is no possi- 
bility of their fainting away ; no, not for a moment. 

Again : the inhabitants of earth are frequently diverted 
from attending to what is afflictive by the cheerful light 
of the sun, the vicissitudes of the seasons, " the busy hum 
of men," and a thousand objects that roll around them in 
endless variety. But the inhabitants of hell have nothing 
to divert them from their torments, even for a moment : 

" Total eclipse ; no sun, no moon !" 

No change of seasons, or of companions. There is no 
business ; but one uninterrupted scene of horror, to which 
they must be all attention. They have no interval of inat- 
tention or stupidity : they are all eye, all ear, all sense. 
Every instant of their duration, it may be said of their 
whole frame that they are 

" tremblingly alive all o'er, 
And smart and agonize at every pore !" 

And of this duration there is no end ! What a thought 
is this ! Nothing but eternity is the term of their torment ! 
And who can count the drops of rain, or the sands of the 
sea, or the days of eternity ? Every suffering is softened, 
if there is any hope, though distant, of deliverance from 
it. But here 

"Hope never comes, that comes to all" 

the inhabitants of the other world ! What ! sufferings never 
to end ? 



306 WESLEY AN A — OF A FUTURE STATE. 

. " Never ! where sinks the soul at that dread sound ? 
Into a gulf how dark and how profound !" 

Suppose millions of days, of years, of ages elapsed, still 
we are only on the threshold of eternity ! Neither the pain 
of body or of soul is any nearer an end than it was mil- 
lions of ages ago. When they are cast into to nvp, to ac- 
pearov, (how emphatical ! " The fire, the unquenchable,") 
all is concluded : " Their worm dieth not, and the fire is 
not quenched !" 

Such is the account which the Judge of all gives of the 
punishment which he has ordained for impenitent sinners. 
And what a counterbalance may the consideration of this 
be to the violence of any temptation ! in particular, to the 
fear of man, the very use to which it is applied by our 
Lord himself: " Be not afraid of them that kill the body, 
and after that have no more that they can do. But fear 
Him who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into 
hell," Luke xii, 4, 5. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 152, 153. 

SECTION V. 
Restoration of the Brute Creation. 

But will " the creature," will even the brute creation^ 
always remain in this deplorable condition ? God forbid 
that we should affirm this, yea, or even entertain such a 
thought ! While " the whole creation groaneth together," 
(whether men attend or not,) their groans are not dispersed 
in idle air, but enter into the ears of Him that made them. 
While his creatures " travail together in pain," he know- 
eth all their pain, and is bringing them nearer and nearer 
to the birth, which shall be accomplished in its season. 
He seeth " the earnest expectation" wherewith the whole 
animated creation " waiteth for" that final " manifestation 
of the sons of God" in which " they themselves also shall 
be delivered [not by annihilation ; annihilation is not deli- 
verance] from the [present] bondage of corruption into [a 



WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 307 



measure of] the glorious liberty of the children of 
God." 

Nothing can be more express. Away with vulgar pre- 
judices, and let the plain word of God take place. " They 
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into glo- 
rious liberty," even a measure, according as they are 
capable, of " the liberty of the children of God." 

A general view of this is given us in the twenty-first 
chapter of the Revelation. When He that " sitteth on the 
great white throne" hath pronounced, " Behold, I make all 
things new;" when the word is fulfilled, "The tabernacle 
of God is with men, and they shall be his people, and God 
himself shall be with them and be their God ;" then the 
following blessing shall take place (not only on the chil- 
dren of men; there is no such restriction in the text; but) 
on every creature according to its capacity : " God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be 
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall 
there be any more pain : for the former things are passed 
away." 

To descend to a few particulars. The whole brute 
creation will then, undoubtedly, be restored, not only to 
the vigour, strength, and swiftness, which they had at 
their creation, but to a far higher degree of each than they 
ever enjoyed. They will be restored, not only to that 
measure of understanding which they had in paradise, but 
to a degree of it as much higher than that as the under- 
standing of an elephant is beyond that of a worm. And 
whatever affections they had in the garden of God will 
be restored with vast increase, being exalted and refined 
in a manner which we ourselves are not now able to com- 
prehend. The liberty they then had will be completely 
restored, and they will be free in all their motions. They 
will be delivered from all irregular appetites, from all un- 
ruly passions, from every disposition that is either evil in 



303 



WESLEYANA OF A FUTURE STATE. 



itself, or has any tendency to evil. No rage will be found 
in any creature, no fierceness, no cruelty, or thirst for 
blood. So far from it, that " the wolf shall dwell with the 
lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; the calf, 
and the young lion, together ; and a little child shall lead 
them. The cow and the bear shall feed together, and the 
lion shall eat straw like the ox. They shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all my holy mountain," Isa. xi, 6, Sic. 

Thus, in that day, all the vanity to which they are now 
helplessly subject will be abolished ; they will suffer no 
more, either from within or without ; the days of their 
groaning are ended. At the same time there can be no 
reasonable doubt but all the horridness of their appear- 
ance, and all the deformity of their aspect, will vanish 
away, and be exchanged for their primeval beauty. And 
with their beauty, their happiness will return ; to which 
there can be no obstruction. As there will be nothing 
within, so there will be nothing without, to give them any 
uneasiness: no heat or cold, no storm or tempest, but one 
perennial spring. In the new earth, as well as the new 
heavens, there will be nothing to give pain, but everything 
that the wisdom and goodness of God can create to give 
happiness. As a recompense for what they once suffered 
while under the " bondage of corruption," when God has 
" renewed the face of the earth," and their corruptible 
body has put on incorruption, they shall enjoy happiness 
suited to their state, without alloy, without interruption, 
and without end. 

May I be permitted to mention here a conjecture con- 
cerning the brute creation ? What if it should then please 
the all-wise, the all-gracious Creator, to raise them higher 
in the scale of beings? What if it should please him when 
he makes us "equal to angels" to make them what we are 
now — creatures capable of God ; capable of knowing, and 
loving, and enjoying the Author of their being? If it should 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



be so, oughfour eye to be evil because he is good? How- 
ever this be, he will certainly do what will be most for 
his own glory. 

If it be objected to all this, (as very probably it will,} 
" But of what use will those creatures be in that future 
state?" I answer this by another question: What use are 
they of now ? If there be (as has commonly been sup- 
posed) eight thousand species of insects, who is able to 
inform us of what use seven thousand of them are ? If 
there are four thousand species of fishes, who can tell us 
of what use are more than three thousand of them ? If 
there are six hundred sorts of birds, who can tell of what 
use five hundred of those species are ? If there be four 
hundred sorts of beasts, to what use do three hundred of 
them serve 1 Consider this ; consider how little we know 
of even the present designs of God, and then you will not 
wonder that we know still less of what he designs to do 
in the new heavens and the new earth .—Sermons, vol. ii, 
pp. 54-56. 



CHAPTER XVIIL 

OF ANGELS. 
SECTION I. 
The Nature and Office of the Good. 

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to 
minister unto them that shall be heirs of salvation ?" 

The question is, according to the manner of the apostle, 
equivalent to a strong affirmation. And hence we learn, 
first, that with regard to their essence, or nature, they are 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



all spirits ; not material beings ; not clogged with flesh 
and blood like us ; but having bodies, if any, not gross and 
earthly like ours, but of a finer substance ; resembling fire 
or flame more than any other of these lower elements. 
And is not something like this intimated in those words 
of the Psalmist: "Who maketh his angels spirits, and his 
ministers a flame of fire," Psa. civ, 4. As spirits, he has 
endued them with understanding, will or affections, (which 
are, indeed, the same thing ; as the affections are only the 
will exerting itself various ways,) and liberty. And are 
not these, understanding, will, and liberty, essential to, if 
not the essence of a spirit ? 

But who of the children of men can comprehend what 
is the understanding of an angel ? Who can comprehend 
how far their sight extends ? Analogous to sight in men, 
though not the same ; but thus we are constrained to 
speak through the poverty of human language : probably 
not only over one hemisphere of the earth ; yea, or, 

" Tenfold the length of this terrene ;" 

or even of the solar system ; but so far as to take, in one 
view, the whole extent of the creation ! And we cannot 
conceive any defect in their perception ; neither any error 
in their understanding. But in what manner do they use 
their understanding? We must in no wise imagine that 
they creep from one truth to another by that slow method 
which we call reasoning. Undoubtedly they see, at one 
glance, whatever truth is presented to their understanding; 
and that with all the certainty and clearness that we mortals 
see the most self-evident axiom. Who then can conceive 
the extent of their knowledge? not only of the nature, attri- 
butes, and works of God, whether of creation or provi- 
dence, but of the circumstances, actions, words, tempers, 
yea, and thoughts of men. For although " God" only 
" knows the hearts of all men," (" unto whom are known 
all his works,") together with the changes they undergo, 



WESLEYANA — OF ANGELS. 



311 



" from the beginning of the world," yet we cannot doubt 
but his angels know the hearts of those to whom they 
more immediately minister. Much less can we doubt of 
their knowing the thoughts that are in our hearts at any 
particular time. What should hinder their seeing them as 
they arise ? Not the thin veil of flesh and blood. Can 
these intercept the view of a spirit ? Nay, 

" Walls within walls no more its passage bar, 
Than unopposing space of liquid air." 

Far more easily, then, and far more perfectly than we can 
read a man's thoughts in his face, do these sagacious be- 
ings read our thoughts just as they rise in our hearts, 
inasmuch as they see the kindred spirit more clearly than 
we see the body. If this seem strange to any who had 
not adverted to it before, let him only consider : Suppose 
my spirit was out of the body, could not an angel see my 
thoughts, even without my uttering any words, (if words 
are used in the world of spirits ?) And cannot that minis- 
tering spirit see them just as well now I am in the body ? 
It seems, therefore, to be an unquestionable truth, (although 
perhaps not commonly observed,) that angels know not 
only the words and actions, but also the thoughts of those 
to whom they minister. And, indeed, without this know- 
ledge they would be very ill qualified to perform various 
parts of their ministry. 

And what an inconceivable degree of wisdom must they 
have acquired by the use of their amazing faculties, over 
and above that with which they were originally endued, 
in the course of more than six thousand years ! (That they 
have existed so long we are assured ; for they " sang 
together when the foundations of the earth were laid.") 
How immensely must their wisdom have increased during 
so long a period, not only by surveying the hearts and 
ways of men in their successive generations, but by ob- 
serving the works of God: his works of creation, his works 



312 



WESLEYANA — OF ANGELS, 



of providence, his works of grace ; and, above ali, by 
" continually beholding the face of their Father which is 
in heaven ?" 

What measures of holiness, as well as wisdom, have 
they derived from this inexhaustible ocean ! 

44 A boundless, fathomless abyss, 
Without a bottom or a shore !" 

Are they not hence, by way of eminence, styled the holy 
angels ? What goodness, what philanthropy, what love to 
man, have they drawn from those rivers that are at his 
right hand ? such as we cannot conceive to be exceeded 
by any but that of God our Saviour. And they are still 
drinking in more love from this " Fountain of living water." 

Such is the knowledge and wisdom of the angels of 
God, as we learn from his own oracles. Such are their 
holiness and goodness. And how astonishing is their 
strength! Even a fallen angel is styled by an inspired 
writer, " The prince of the power of the air." How ter- 
rible a proof did he give of this power in suddenly raising 
the whirlwind, which " smote the four corners of the 
house," and destroyed all the children of Job at once ! 
chap. i. That this was his work, we may easily learn 
from the command to " save his life." But he gave a far 
more terrible proof of his strength (if we suppose that 
" messenger of the Lord" to have been an evil angel, as is 
not at all improbable) when he smote with death a hundred 
fourscore and five thousand Assyrians in one night, nay, 
possibly in one hour, if not one moment. Yet a strength 
abundantly greater than this must have been exerted by 
that angel (whether he was an angel of light or of dark- 
ness, which is not determined by the text) who smote in 
one hour "all the first-born of Egypt, both of man and 
beast." For considering the extent of the land of Egypt, 
the immense populousness thereof, and the innumerable 
cattle fed in their houses and grazing in their fruitful fields, 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



313 



the men and beasts who were slain in that night must have 
amounted to several millions ! And if this be supposed to 
have been an evil angel, must not a good angel be as 
strong, yea, stronger than he 1 for surely any good angel 
must have more power than even an archangel ruined. 
And what power must the "four angels" in the Revelation 
have who were appointed to "keep the four winds of hea- 
ven ?" There seems, therefore, no extravagance in sup- 
posing that, if God were pleased to permit, any of the 
angels of light could heave the earth and all the planets 
out of their orbits ; yea, that he could arm himself with 
all these elements, and crush the whole frame of nature. 
Indeed, we do not know how to set any bounds to the 
strength of these first-born children of God. 

And although none but their great Creator is omnipre- 
sent ; although none besides him can ask, " Do not I fill 
heaven and earth?" yet, undoubtedly, he has given an im- 
mense sphere of action (though not unbounded) to created 
spirits. " The prince of the kingdom of Persia," (men- 
tioned Dan. x, 13,) though probably an evil angel, seems 
to have had a sphere of action, both of knowledge and 
power, as extensive as that vast empire. And the same, 
if not greater, we may reasonably ascribe to the good 
angel whom he withstood for one and twenty days. 

The angels of God have great power, in particular, over 
the human body — power either to cause or remove pain 
and diseases, either to kill or to heal. They perfectly 
well understand whereof we are made ; they know all the 
springs of tbis curious machine ; and can doubtless, by 
God's permission, touch any of them, so as either to stop 
or restore its motion. Of this power, even in an evil an- 
gel, we have a clear instance in the case of Job, whom be 
" smote with sore boils" all over, " from the crown of the 
head to the sole of the foot." And in that instant, un- 
doubtedly, he would have killed him, if God had not saved 

14 



314 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



his life. And, on the other hand, of the power of angels 
to heal, we have a remarkable instance in the case of 
Daniel. There remained no " strength in me," said the 
prophet ; " neither was there breath in me." " Then one 
came and touched me, and said, Peace be unto thee ; be 
strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto 
me, I was strengthened," chap, x, 17, &c. On the other 
hand, when they are commissioned from above, may they 
not put a period to human life ! There is nothing impro- 
bable in what Dr. Parnell supposes the angel to say to the 
hermit, concerning the death of the child : — 

"To all but thee, in fits he seem'd to go : 
And 'twas my ministry to deal the blow." 

From this great truth the heathen poets probably derived 
their imagination, that Iris used to be sent down from 
heaven to discharge souls out of their bodies. And per- 
haps the sudden death of many of the children of God may 
be owing to the ministry of an angel. 

So perfectly are the angels of God qualified for their 
high office. It remains to inquire, How they discharge 
their office ? How do they minister to the heirs of salva- 
tion ? 

I will not say, that they do not minister at all to those 
who, through their obstinate impenitence and unbelief, 
disinherit themselves of the kingdom. This world is a 
world of mercy, wherein God pours down many mercies, 
even on the evil and the unthankful. And many of these, 
it is probable, are conveyed even to them by the ministry 
of angels, especially so long as they have any thought of 
God, or any fear of God before their eyes. But it is their 
favourite employ, their peculiar office, to minister to the 
heirs of salvation; to those who are now " saved by faith," 
or at least seeking God in sincerity. 

Is it not their first care to minister to our souls ? But 



J 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 315 

we must not expect this will be done with observation^ 
in such a manner as that we may clearly distinguish their 
working from the workings of our own minds. We have 
no more reason to look for this than for their appearing in 
a visible shape. Without this they can, in a thousand 
ways, apply to our understanding. They may assist us 
in our search after truth, remove many doubts and diffi- 
culties, throw light on what was before dark and obscure, 
and confirm us in the truth that is after godliness. They 
may warn us of evil in disguise, and place what is good 
in a clear, strong light. They may gently move our will 
to embrace what is good, and fly from that which is evil. 
They may, many times, quicken our dull affections, in- 
crease our holy hope or filial fear, and assist us more 
ardently to love Him who has first loved us. Yea, they 
may be sent of God to answer that whole prayer put into 
our mouths by pious Bishop Kenn : 

tl O may thy angels, while I sleep, 
Around my bed thy vigils keep ; 
Their love angelical instil : 
Stop every avenue of ill. 
May they celestial joys rehearse, 
And thought to thought with me converse !" 

although the manner of this we shall not be able to 
explain while we dwell in the body. , 
May they not minister also to us, with respect to our bo- 
dies, in a thousand ways which we do not now understand ? 
They may prevent our falling into many dangers which 
we are not sensible of ; and may deliver us out of many 
others, though we know not whence our deliverance comes. 
How many times have we been strangely and unaccount- 
ably preserved in sudden and dangerous falls ! and it is 
well if we did not impute that preservation to chance, or 
to our own wisdom or strength. Not so: it was God gave 
his angels charge over us, and in their hands they bore us 



316 



WESLEYANA — OF ANGELS, 



up. Indeed, men of the world will always impute such 
deliverances to accident or second causes. To these, 
possibly, some of them might have imputed DanieFs pre- 
servation in the lions' den. But himself ascribes it to the 
true cause : " My God hath sent his angel, and shut the 
mouths of the lions," Dan. vi, 22. 

When a violent disease, supposed incurable, is totally 
and suddenly removed, it is by no means improbable that 
this is effected by the ministry of an angel. And perhaps 
it is owing to the same cause that a remedy is unaccount- 
ably suggested, either to the sick person, or some attending 
upon him, by which he is entirely cured. 

It seems what are usually called divine dreams may be 
frequently ascribed to angels. We have a remarkable 
instance of this kind related by one that will hardly be 
thought an enthusiast ; for he was a heathen, a philoso- 
pher, and an emperor — I mean Marcus Antoninus. " In 
his meditations he solemnly thanks God for revealing to 
him, when he was at Cajeta, in a dream, what totally cured 
the bloody flux, which none of his physicians were able 
to heal." And why may we not suppose that God gave 
him this notice by the ministry of an angel ? 

And how often does God deliver us from evil men by 
the ministry of his angels, overturning whatever their rage, 
or malice, or subtlety, had plotted against us I These are 
about their bed, and about their path, and privy to all their 
dark designs ; and many of them, undoubtedly, they brought 
to naught by means that we think not of. Sometimes they 
blast their favourite schemes in the beginning; sometimes 
when they are just ripe for execution. And this they can 
do by a thousand means that we are not aware of. They 
can check them in their mid career by bereaving them of 
courage or strength ; by striking faintness through their 
loins, or turning their wisdom into foolishness. Some- 
times they bring to light the hidden things of darkness, 



WESLEY ANA— -OF ANGELS. 



317 



and show us the traps that are laid for our feet. In these 
and various other ways they hew the snares of the ungodly 
in pieces. 

Another grand branch of their ministry is to counter- 
work evil angels, who are continually going about, not 
only as roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour ; 
but more dangerously still, as angels of light, seeking 
whom they may deceive. And how great is the number 
of these ! Are they not as the stars of heaven for multi- 
tude ? How great is their subtlety ! matured by the expe- 
rience of above six thousand years. How great is their 
strength! only inferior to that of the angels of God. The 
strongest of the sons of men are but as grasshoppers be- 
fore them. And what an advantage have they over us by 
that single circumstance, that they are invisible ! As we 
have not strength to repel their force, so we have not skill 
to decline it. But the merciful Lord hath not given us up 
to the will of our enemies. " His eyes," that is, his holy 
angels, " run to and fro over all the earth." And if our 
eyes were opened, we should see " they are more that are 
for us than they that are against us." We should see 

" A convoy attends, r 
A ministering host of invisible friends." 

And whenever those assault us in soul or in body, these 
are able, willing, ready to defend us ; who are at least 
equally strong, equally wise, and equally vigilant. And 
who can hurt us while we have armies of angels, and the 
God of angels, on our side ? 

Ane we may make one general observation : whatever 
assistance God gives to men by men, the same, and fre- 
quently in a higher degree, he gives to them by angels. 
Does he administer to us by men light when we are in 
darkness 1 joy when we are in heaviness ? deliverance 
when we are in danger ? ease and health when we are 



318 WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 

sick or in pain ? It cannot be doubted but he frequently 
conveys the same blessings by the ministry of angels, not 
so sensibly, indeed, but full as effectually, though the mes- 
sengers are not seen. Does he frequently deliver us by 
means of men from the violence and subtlety of our ene- 
mies ? Many times he works the same deliverance by those 
invisible agents. These shut the mouths of the human 
lions, so that they have no power to hurt us. And fre- 
quently they join with our human friends, (although nei- 
ther they nor we are sensible of it,) giving them wisdom, 
courage, or strength, without which all their labour for us 
would be unsuccessful. Thus do they secretly minister, 
in numberless instances, to the heirs of salvation ; while 
we hear only the voices of men, and see none but men 
round about us. — Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 134-138* 

SECTION II. 
The Nature and Employment of the Fallen. 

We cannot doubt but all the angels of God were origin- 
ally of the same nature. Unquestionably they were *he 
highest order of created beings. They were spirits, puT e, 
ethereal creatures, simple and incorruptible ; if not wholly 
immaterial, yet certainly not encumbered with gross, 
earthly flesh and blood. As spirits, they were endued 
with understanding, with affections, and with liberty, or a 
power of self-determination ; so that it lay in themselves 
either to continue in their allegiance to God, Oi to rebel 
against him. 

And their original properties were, doubtless, the same 
with those of the holy angels. There is no absurdity in 
supposing Satan, their chief, otherwise styled, " Lucifer, 
son of the morning," to have been, at least, " one of the 
first, if not the first archangel." Like the other sons of 
the morning, they had a height and depth of understand- 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



319 



ing quite incomprehensible to us. In consequence of this, 
they had such knowledge and wisdom that the wisest of 
the children of men (had men then existed) would have 
been mere idiots in comparison of them. Their strength 
was equal to their knowledge, such as it cannot enter into 
our hearts to conceive : neither can we conceive to how 
wide a sphere of action either their strength or their know- 
ledge extended. Their number God alone can tell : doubt- 
less it was only less than infinite. And a third part of 
these stars of heaven the arch rebel drew after him. 

We do not exactly know (because it is not revealed in 
the oracles of God) either what was the occasion of their 
apostacy, or what effect it immediately produced upon 
them. Some have, not improbably, supposed that when 
God published " the decree" (mentioned Psalm ii, 6, 7) 
concerning the kingdom of his only begotten Son, to be 
over all creatures, these first-born of creatures gave place 
to pride, comparing themselves to him, (possibly intimated 
by the very name of Satan,) Lucifer, or Michael, which 
means, Who is like God? It may be, Satan, then first 
giving way to temptation, said in his heart, " I too will 
have my throne — I will sit upon the sides of the north ! 
I will be like the Most High." But how did the mighty 
then fall! What an amazing loss did they sustain, if 
we allow of them all, what our poet supposes concerning 
their chief in particular : 

" His form had not yet lost 
All its original brightness, nor appear'd 
Less than archangel ruin'd, and the excess 
Of glory obscured." 

If we suppose their outward form was not entirely changed, 
(though it must have been in a great degree, because 
the evil disposition of the mind must dim the lustre of the 
visage,) yet what an astonishing change was wrought 



320 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



within when angels became devils ! when the holiest of 
all the creatures of God became the most unholy ! 

From the time that they shook off their allegiance to 
God, they shook off all goodness, and contracted all those 
tempers which are most hateful to him, and most opposite 
to his nature. And ever since they are full of pride, arro- 
gance, haughtiness, exalting themselves above measure ; 
and although so deeply depraved through their inmost 
frame, yet admiring their own perfections. They are full 
of envy, if not against God himself, (and even that is not 
impossible, seeing they formerly aspired after his throne,) 
yet against all their fellow-creatures ; against the angels 
of God, who now enjoy the heaven from which they fell ; 
and much more against those worms of the earth who are 
now called to " inherit the kingdom." They are full of 
cruelty, of rage against all the children of men, whom they 
long to inspire with the same wickedness with themselves, 
and to involve in the same misery. 

In the prosecution of this infernal design, they are diligent 
in the highest degree. To find out the most effectual means 
of putting it into execution, they apply to this end the whole 
force of their angelical understanding ; and they second it 
with their whole strength, so far as God is pleased to permit. 
But it is well for mankind that God hath set them their 
bounds, which they cannot pass. He has said to the 
fiercest and strongest of the apostate spirits, "Hitherto thou 
shalt come, and no farther." Otherwise how easily and 
how quickly might one of them overturn the whole frame 
of nature ! How soon would they involve all in one com- 
mon ruin, or, at least, destroy man from the face of the 
earth! And they are indefatigable in their bad work: they 
never are faint or weary. Indeed, it seems no spirits are 
capable of weariness but those that inhabit flesh and blood. 

One circumstance more we may learn from the Scrip- 
ture concerning the evil angels : they do not wander at 



WESLEYANA — OF ANGELS. 



321 



large, but are all united under one common head. It is 
he that is styled by our blessed Lord, " The prince of this 
world:" yea, the apostle does not scruple to call him, 
" the god of this world." He is frequently styled Satan, 
the adversary ; being the great adversary both of God and 
man. He is termed, " the devil," by way of eminence ; 
"Apollyon," or the destroyer; "the old serpent;" from 
his beguiling Eve under that form; and "the angel of the 
bottomless pit." We have reason to believe that the other 
evil angels are under his command ; that they are ranged 
by him according to their several orders ; that they are 
appointed to their several stations, and have, from time to 
time, their several works and offices assigned them. And, 
undoubtedly, they are connected (though we know not 
how ; certainly not by love) both to him and to each other. 
Sermons , vol. ii, pp. 140-142. 

Whether or no particular men are attended by particu- 
lar evil spirits, we know that Satan and all his angels are 
continually warring against us, and watching over every 
child of man. They are ever watching to see whose 
outward or inward circumstances, whose prosperity or 
adversity, whose health or sickness, whose friends or 
enemies, whose youth or age, whose knowledge or igno- 
rance, whose blindness or idleness, whose joy or sorrow, 
may lay them open to temptation. And they are perpe- 
tually ready to make the utmost advantage of every cir- 
cumstance. These skilful wrestlers espy the smallest slip 
we make, and avail themselves of it immediately; as 
they also are " about our bed, and about our path, and spy 
out all our ways." Indeed, each of them " walketh about 
as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour;" or 
whom he may "beguile through his subtlety, as the 
serpent beguiled Eve." Yea, and in order to do this the 
more effectually, they transform themselves into angels 
of light. Thus, 

14* 



322 



WESLEYANA OF ANGELS. 



" With rage that never ends, 
Their hellish arts they try : 
Legions of dire, malicious fiends, 
And spirits enthroned on high." 

It is by these instruments chiefly that the "foolish 
hearts" of those that know not God "are darkened;" yea, 
they frequently darken, in a measure, the hearts of them 
that do know God. The "god of this world" knows how 
to blind our hearts, to spread a cloud over our understand- 
ing, and to obscure the light of those truths which at other 
times shine as bright as the noonday sun. By this means 
he assaults our faith, our evidence of things unseen. He 
endeavours to weaken that hope full of immortality, to 
which God had begotten us ; and thereby to lessen, if he 
cannot destroy, our joy in God our Saviour. But, above 
all, he strives to damp our love of God, as he knows this 
is the spring of all our religion ; and that, as this rises or 
falls, the work of God flourishes or decays in the soul. — 
Sermons, vol. ii, pp. 142, 143. 



THE END. 



CONTENTS 



TO 



WESLEY AN A. 



Page 

Adoption, spirit of 105 

, evidences of 221 

Air, the atmospheric, described. .74 

Angels, evil, described 318 

, good, nature and of- 
fice of...._ 309 

Animals and insects 78 

Believe, what it is to 46 

Bible, arguments in favour of the 40 

, contains the Christian rule 41 

Biographical sketch of Mr. 

Wesley -..9-38 

Bigotry, to be guarded against 271 
Brute creation, restoration of 

the 306 

Care, needless, to be avoided 273 
Chance does not govern the 

world 86 

Charity, or love, largely de- 
scribed 228 

Christ, divinity of 92 

f died for all men 101 

, human nature of 94 

is the author of all life 102 

is the judge of all men 104 

, righteousness of, defined 96 

Christian, description of a 215-221 

— duties explained 247 

— ■ graces described 228-247 

. ■ rule, the Bible con- 
tains the 41 

Christianity built on four pillars 40 

described 44-47 

Creation, wisdom of God in the 61 

beautifully described 72-80 

Conscience, several kinds de- 
scribed 41,42,151-154 

Covenant of works, what it re- 
quired 118 



Page 

Cross, taking up the 267 

Day and night, their use 75 

Decree of God, what 83 

Earth, the, described 72 

Election defined 90 

Eternity an attribute of God 60 

Evil speaking to be avoided . . . 277 
Faith, its nature and kinds de- 
scribed 45, 46, 47, 170, 177, 181 

, to be exercised in God.. 181 

— , the condition of justifi- 
cation 182 

, its fruits 184-188 

, not to be magnified be- 
yond love 236 

, the gift of God 100 

, a means of promoting 

holiness 128 

Fire, ethereal, its use in creation 76 

, ethereal its use in the 

human body 139 

Folly of man in choosing sin. 161 
Fletcher, character of Rev. J. ..27 

Foreknowledge of God 63 

Free agency of man 89, 131 

Future state, our natural igno- 
rance of 156 

, described . . . 289-308 

God the creator of all things 72-80 

, his eternity 60-70 

— — , his knowledge and wisdom 61 

, his holiness 71 

, his incomprehensibility . . 70 

, his omnipotence, omni- 
presence, and omniscience 64-68 
— , his universal providence 65-87 

, three persons in one 58 

, to be regarded as the 

end of all our works 261 



324 



CONTEXTS TO WESLEY ANA. 



Page 

God, sovereignty of 87 

Grace of God, free for all and 

in all 82-84 

, sometimes 

irresistible. 89 

Happiness, true, found only in 

religion , 56 

Happy, none but a true Chris- 
tian is 57 

— — , every true Christian is 58 

Heaven an eternal day 76 

Hell an eternal night 76 

or hades, explained 158 

, punishment in 301 

Holiness of God 71 

in man is from God 80-1 11 

described 196 

u to the Lord' 'explained 123 

Holy Ghost, the, is the Spirit 

of adoption 105 

, the, is grieved by 

sin 109 

, the, is the effi- 
cient cause of holiness Ill 

Hope of the Christian described 244 
Imputed righteousness ex- 
plained 97-100 

Invisible world, our ignorance 

of the 160 

Jesus Christ is the Saviour of 

all men 100 

is the true God... 92 

is the author of 

eternal life 102 

■ is possessed of 

two distinct natures 93 

will judge the 

world 104 

— — ■ — came not to de- 
stroy the law ...126 

Jov in the Holy Ghost described 54 
— - of a Christian, described. . . 238 
Judge of all men, Christ is the. 104 

Judgment day described. . 289 

Justification, its nature 188 

, Christ the meri- 
torious cause of 190 

Knowledge, our, is limited 154 

Law, the, its nature beautifully 
described ..... ......... 1 12 



Page 

Law, the, is unchangeable rea- 
son H2 

, the, its properties ,..113 

, the, is not the cause of sin 114 

, the, is the immutable 

rule of right and wrong 116 

, the, goodness of God in 

giving and preserving 117 

— — , the, requires perfect holi- 
ness 118 

, the, its use is to convince 

of sin .120 

, the, its use is to bring us 
and keep us to Christ 121 

, the, is inseparable from 

the gospel 124 

, the, is corinrmed,fulfilled, 

and perpetuated by Christ.. 125 

the, is established by faith 128 

Liberty, false notions of 137 

Life eternal commences on 
earth 103 

Lord's supper, the 257, 284 

| Love the essence of true re- 
ligion 54 

, a beautiful allegory con- 
cerning 55 

to God, fruits of 49 

of God to man 81 

of God free in all and for 

all 82 

of our neighbour de- 
scribed 52, 263 

— — the ruling principle of 
a Christian's heart 216 

— or charity largely de- 
scribed 228-238 

Man, his original state 130 

was created in the image 

of God 132 

, his fallen state described 133 

now bears the image of 

the devil 135 

— is ignorant of himself 136 

, his physical nature de- 
scribed _ .....138 

, his spiritual part de- 
scribed 140 

is under the power and 

dominion of sin 142 



CONTEXTS TO WESLEYANA, 



325 



Page 

Man, the only end for which 

he was created 145 

, his accountability 146 

is a steward of the mani- 
fold gifts of God 150 

— — , his knowledge is limit- 
ed „ .154 

is ignorant of a future 

state 156 

, his folly in choosing sin 161 

— is subject to death 164 

, his body shall rise again 296 

Means of grace, how to be 

used 283-285 

Men of learning ignorant of 

themselves 136 

Meekness described 240 

■ under persecution. .263 

Merit, none in man 79 

Ministry of angels 315 

Money, the right use of ex- 
plained 280 

Motion, God is the source of 

in creation 141 

. , voluntary and invo- 
luntary 142 

New birth described 191-194 

, its evidences .194 

Obedience to parents a Chris- 
tian duty 270 

Old age, effects of 165 

Parents, obedience to, a duty 270 
Partaking of the Lord's supper 

a Christian duty 257. 284 

Patience, a Christian grace and 

duty 242 

Peace of God, the, described. .53 

of the Christian described 239 

Perfection, Christian, described 

195-199 
Persecution, how to behave 

under 263 

Prayer, a Christian duty . .249-255 

Prior's "Solomon" quoted 57 

Providence of God 65, 84, 86 

■ ■ , a three- 
fold circle of 85 

• is often 

mysterious 86 

Punishment, future, described 301 



Page 

Reason, use of in understand- 
ing the Scriptures 43 

Reasonings of carnal men 138 

Regeneration, its nature and 

evidences described * - 19 1—194 
Religion is founded upon the 

oracles of God 43 

is God's method of 



healing the soul 48 

true, the nature of de- 



scribed 48-55 

true, its fruits, design 

and happiness of 56 

true, to be exempli- 
fied in all our conduct 264 

Repentance described 165, 169 ; 

209, 247, 249 

Reprobation explained 91 

Restoration of the brute cre- 
ation ...... 306 

Resurrection of the human 

body 296 

Revelation the best means of 

rational conviction 42 

Rewards of the righteous 294 

Righteousness of Christ de- 
fined 96 

, imputed, how. .98 

of the law 119 



Salvation, nature and extent 

of 203 

•, how to be obtained 208 



Sane tinea tion, when it begins 194 

, its nature 195-199 

, how attain- 



ed 200-202 

, what is meant 

by working out our 200 

Satan and his angels described 318 
Scriptures, their importance. .39 

, their inspiration 40 

contain the rule of 



right and wrong 41 

•,to be understood by 



the help of reason 43 

to be searched dil- 
igently 255 

Searching the Scriptures a 

Christian duty . . •,.„„„, 255 

Self-denial a Christian duty.. 267 



326 CONTENTS TO 

Page 

Self-examination a Christian 

duty „ 261 

Seeing, hearing, &c. , are modes 

of thinking 140 

Sin grieves the Holy Spirit 110 
remains in a believer after 

justification 224 

, inbred, may be all destroy- 
ed 51 

reigns in the unregenerate 141 

Soliloquy of Rev. J. Wesley 39 
Soul the, a thinking principle 140 
, passions and affections 

of the 141 

, governs the voluntary 

motions of the body 141 

Sovereignty of God 87-90 

* Speak evil of no one" ex- 

plained 277 

Spirit of adoption, the 105 

witness of the 105-109 

Steward, in what respects 

man is a 147 

Sun and moon, their use 77 

Temptation,why permitted 286 

Testimony of the Spirit 107 

Toplady, character of Rev. A. 27 
" To will and to do" explained 80 

Trinity, doctrine of the 58-60 

Wesley, Rev. J. — His ancestors 

10, — birth 11, — escape from fire 

11, -placed at the Charter House 
11, — eminence as a scholar 12 



k T ESLE YANA. 

Page 

— ordained deacon 12, — elected 
fellow of Lincoln College 12, — ■ 
ordained priest 13, — why called 
a Methodist 13, — -refuses the 
living at Epworth 14, — sails for 
Georgia 15, — arrives at Savan- 
nah 1 6, — sails again for England 
16, — examines himself closely 
while on the voyage 17, — -be- 
comes acquainted with Peter Bo- 
ehlen 18, — forms a religious so- 
ciety in London 19, — obtains the 
witness of the Spirit that he is 
born of God 21, — visits Germa- 
ny 22,— builds the first Metho- 
dist chapel at Bristol 23, — draws 
up rules for his societies 24, — 
holds the first conference 25, — 
marries Mrs. Vizelle 26, — op- 
poses Calvinism 27, — visits 
Scotland 28,— builds City Road 
Chapel 28, — is attacked by Fa- 
ther O'Leary 28, — visits Holland 
28, — sends preachers to Ameri- 
ca 29, — ordains Dr. Coke 30,— 
visits the French Islands 31,— 
his death 32, — character 33,— 
epitaph 34, — review of his la- 
bours 35-38. 

Witness of the Spirit 105-109 

4( Work out your own salva- 
tion" explained 210 

Worldly care to be avoided 273 



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